


How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

by VikLovesFeet



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Housemates, Humor, Japan Trip!, Light Angst, M/M, Rated teen for language, Silly antics, and probably situations?, characters name spelled with a k, how to lose a guy in ten days au, they're not ice skaters, uh oh more angst, will add tags as i go along!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-08-07 17:36:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VikLovesFeet/pseuds/VikLovesFeet
Summary: “Let’s make a bet.”Yuuri’s face falls flat, “a bet?”“That guy. You don’t think you can get a guy to stay with you for a week? I’ll raise you ten days and I guarantee you can’t get rid of him. You can do whatever you think it takes to get him to ghost you, dump you, whatever, go crazy. Up your personality to 1000%, but I bet you can’t scare him off.”Viktor tried to protest, “this is ridiculous, Chris, I’m not-”“Ah ha! Perfect!”Viktor stepped forward and next to Christophe, “where?”Christophe gave him the knowing side eye and nodded in front of himself, “Asian cutie, straight ahead, blue tie.” When he saw Viktor’s reaction, he plucked his glass from Viktor’s clutches and went to walk away, but not before saying “I’m just gonna go talk with Mila. Make me proud, Vik. And remember, you have to make it last a while! Don’t let the media control your love life.”Yuuri does everything he can imagine to turn this guy off, why isn't it working?!





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> ah! sorry for the obv title, didn't wanna spend too much time on it... and that's what it is!
> 
> I plan to update every weekend! for the next couple weeks, one chapter per day, and an epilogue after that!  
> yay!
> 
> The rating should stay teen, there's really no reason for it to go above that? tell me if you think I'm wrong!

Yuuri tinkered with the empty champagne glass in his hand – it’s his third and last glass of the night, _“I promise Mr. Cialdini”_ – while Phichit chit-chats with a client not two feet from him. They just made a big sale to N Corp and Phichit still had it in him to socialize after sixteen weeks of meetings and a lot of paperwork.

“Hey,” a tap on the shoulder knocked Yuuri from his reverie, “where’d you go?”

“Nine miles away, to my bed and the comfort of the white light of my phone lulling me to a sweet sleep,” Yuuri jokes with one corner of his mouth curling up to an almost smile.

Phichit gives him one good “ _ha_ ” and maybe it was just a sympathy laugh but Yuuri would accept that in his current state, “why don’t you find someone to go home with you…” Yuuri blanches and Phichit winks like they’re in on some secret, “it’s been a while, right?”

“N- no! I mean... well, how the hell do you know?” Yuuri pouts his lips in mock annoyance.

“Yuuri… we’re roommates. You’re always home. Alone.”

“So.” The annoyance is bordering on real, now.

Phichit sighs, “I’m just saying, we closed on this big deal! It’s time to celebrate and you my friend need to get laid.”

“Sh!” Yuuri chastises, “ _please,_ for my sake, be a little more discreet.”

“C’mon, lemme pick a guy for you to woo, I know your tastes.” Phichit looks around the room, seemingly pleased with what he sees he turns back to Yuuri, “that guy,” he points to his eight o’clock.

When Yuuri looks he scoffs, “yeah, okay, I’ll just saunter over and take that gorgeous man home.”

“Yuuri you could play house with anyone you want!” He urged, when Yuuri just scoffs again Phichit takes him by the shoulders and shakes him forward and back, “you are a beautiful, funny, sexy, interesting, etcetera!”

“Did you just say etcetera?”

“- And boys would kill, _do kill_ , to take you out.” Yuuri shakes off his grip.

“You’re being ridiculous, I can’t get a man, especially one like that,” he half gestures across the room to the silver fox, “to stay with me for longer than a night. Let alone a week,” Yuuri’s eyes roll up and a sarcastic grin sits on his face.

“Let’s make a bet.”

Yuuri’s face falls flat, “a bet?”

“That guy. You don’t think you can get a guy to stay with you for a week? I’ll raise you ten days and I guarantee you can’t get rid of him. You can do whatever you think it takes to get him to ghost you, dump you, whatever, go crazy. Up your personality to 1000%, but I bet you can’t scare him off.”

Yuuri scoffs again and Phichit looks at him with a bored expression. Yuuri caves quickly, “ _fine._ ” He takes Phichit’s glass and down’s the champagne in it ( _sorry Cialdini),_ “you want 1000%, I’ll give you damn 1000% and I _will_ get rid of him.”

“You’re gonna lose,” Phichit singsongs. Yuuri’s already pulling his pants up and tucking in his shirt straighter like a man who means business.

He takes one step forward and turns back to Phichit, “you’re really not gonna stop me?”

This time when Phichit laughs it’s for real and it’s full bodied, “yeah right. Go get ‘im, son.”

Yuuri sniffs, “alright. Step one… get invited to his house.”

“That’s step one?!” But Yuuri’s already walking towards the older man.

~*~

Viktor had forgone the champagne to sip at vodka, he takes a sip now as he reads thru an article on Christophe’s phone. He hands the phone back to the man, “I don’t even have time to get laid, why is the media so insistent on portraying me as… some…” he threw his one arm up in exasperation, “I don’t know-”

“Whore.”

Viktor slaps at his arm, “ _Chris_ … yeah.”

“This article’s just mentioning Samuel leaving town.”

“Yeah and before that it was Jonathan, Molly, and so forth. We were _just_ working on a deal for N Corp, we weren’t sleeping together.”

Christophe shrugs his shoulders, and shoots back his own drink, “if you would just date _someone_ , they’d leave you alone.”

“They wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“Okay, at least they’d stop calling you a wh-”

“ _Right,_ thank you." He thinks for a moment, "dating… you make it sound so easy.”

Christophe gives him that sickly sweet smile that he uses to get whatever he wants, “it _is_ easy, darling. Just pick out the second cutest guy in the room, take him home, see how long you can stick it out. Here,” he hands Viktor his glass, “I’ll help you,” he puts his hands on his hips and turns to face the rest of the room.

Viktor tried to protest, “this is ridiculous, Chris, I’m not-”

“Ah ha! Perfect!”

Viktor stepped forward and next to Christophe, “where?”

Christophe gave him the knowing side eye and nodded in front of himself, “Asian cutie, straight ahead, blue tie.” When he saw Viktor’s reaction, he plucked his glass from Viktor’s clutches and went to walk away, but not before saying “I’m just gonna go talk with Mila. Make me proud, Vik. And remember, you have to make it last a while! Don’t let the media control your love life.”

Viktor swallowed, the man was really… beautiful, his clothes a little too tight, like they were borrowed, or he had gained weight recently, but that just means Viktor got a better view of what was underneath.

 _Alright, first things first, gotta get him to come home with me._ It may have been awhile, but Viktor knows he’s good in bed and if anything’s gonna get them to stay, it’s gonna be because of that.

“Ah,” it’s Viktor’s lucky day, because the man straightens his shirt and starts to make his way over to Viktor, only stopping to turn back to his friend for a second. Viktor turns away and watches from the side of his eye, as to not scare him off. He feels a little giddy, this is actually _exciting_ , he thinks. The man moves gracefully like water on an even current and Viktor can’t help thinking he’s breathtaking.

As he steps up to Viktor, he can see the mans features more clearly (and Yuuri can see his as well, thinking to himself, _whoa, not an older guy, okay. Silver hair threw me off… still hot, though_ ). His deep brown eyes hidden behind big blue frames, the loose, dark strands that fall into his face from his slicked back hair.

His sweet pink lips have started to move and _oh dear god, he’s talking._

“– With me?”

_Go out with me?_

_Come home with me?_

_Either way…_ “yes,” he breaths out heavy.

The man smiles and steps back, reaching out his hand, Viktor doesn’t know what he’s agreed to do but he accepts the hand and is surprised when he is pulled to the center of the dance floor.

Their bodies press close together and Viktor feels the heat he hasn’t felt in years swim through his veins, his body tingles everywhere he's touching the man.

They step in tempo with the song, and Viktor finally offers his name, “Viktor Mikhailovich.”

“Vikutoru…” he tries and his tongue makes new sounds out of his name and Viktor is smitten, “Mi-ki –”

“You can call me Vitya, it’s what I’d prefer to hear when we’re in bed together,” he jokes.

The man’s eye brows raise, and Viktor’s worried he overstepped until he bursts out laughing, falling into Viktor’s chest just slightly, his hand squeezing at the back of Viktor’s neck where he holds him.

“Does that usually work, _Vitya?_ ”

Viktor chuckles, “I don’t know,” he answers honestly, but smiles down at the man.

“I suppose if we have such plans together, you’ll need to know my name as well… Yuuri.” The U is dragged out and Viktor can’t help but ask him to repeat it, watching his lips wrap about the long letter.

They go back and forth for the rest of the slow song, “ _Yuuri~”_ Viktor tickles at his hip and Yuuri pushes him away, giggling.

“Yuuri,” he agrees, and pulls Viktor back in flush.

It goes on like this until the music picks up and Viktor is surprised yet again when Yuuri takes the lead from him and pulls Viktor into a fast pace showing off extremely beautiful moves Viktor hasn’t seen outside the Bolshoi.

~*~

The way they stumble into Viktor’s home is completely opposite from the grace they shared in their dancing. They fall into bed, Yuuri’s hands around his neck and Viktor tugging him close by the waist.


	2. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's plans are interrupted by a little kitten, could this ferocious beast want to _help_ Yuuri?!
> 
> _Viktor pulls out a familiar purple bottle, his facemask, upon further inspection he sees all of his facial products are in the garbage. His gasp is audible as he untwists the cap to the container._   
>  _The container has been scooped clean, he pulls the rest out and it’s the same. Yuuri’s cleaned him out. He could cry, actual tears._   
>  _“I don’t think I could ever last two weeks with a monster like this,” Viktor squeaks out._

Viktor wakes up in a too warm bed, he flips the covers off and away from him to let the cold air of the room cool his skin. A groan behind him makes him turn his head, the covers had landed over Yuuri and now he’s pushing them off with kicking legs.

Viktor can’t help but smile at the image, he hasn’t woken up next to someone in _so_ long, even when he did have a partner, they weren’t usually invited to stay.

He’s been staring at Yuuri’s sleeping form for far too long when he remembers Christophe and his _ideas_. Viktor thinks about it for a second, because he actually _likes_ Yuuri, wouldn’t mind actually trying this out. Yuuri’s smart, cute, funny, a great dancer, and _damn,_ he’s great in bed _._ He taps at his chin and his smile grows, maybe Christophe was right, dating could be easy.

~*~

When Yuuri wakes up he smells bacon and coffee, it lures him up and into the kitchen quickly. He only has enough brain power to pull on a shirt over his naked torso, barely realizing it must be Viktor’s shirt because he didn’t wear a t-shirt here last night.

Yuuri slumps into the first seat he finds, which is right at the island where Viktor cooks. Maybe Viktor smiles at him, Yuuri hasn’t completely opened his eyes yet.

“Good morning,” Viktor’s voice is deep with sleep and Yuuri has to open his eyes now to make sure he hasn’t stumbled out of Viktor’s apartment and into someone else’s by mistake, _nope still Viktor,_ he thinks, _and fuck, that is… hot._

“Morning,” Yuuri grumbled.

“I made breakfast!” Viktor flourishes, and _oh god, he’s a morning person._ “Eat up, I’m gonna go get ready,” he’s already walking towards the bedroom when he continues, “I have a quick meeting this morning, but you can take your time, eat, shower, whatever. Just lock up with the key under the flower pot when you leave.”

The bedroom doors clicks shut and Yuuri’s eyebrows knot together as he remembers Phichit’s bet. This may have only been a one-night stand, Yuuri realizes he might not even have time to scare Viktor off. He barely tastes his food, completely consumed by his thoughts, he’s actually disappointed, Viktor is _fun_ … and handsome, kind and _very_ generous in bed.

He snaps out of his thoughts when he hears the bedroom door open, Viktor steps out in dark gray slacks and a lilac button up, which makes his bright blue eyes pop dramatically – _am I looking at a model?_ – The tie hangs limp around his neck and he works on the buttons of his cuffs. Yuuri uses all his morning strength up just keeping his jaw shut.

Viktor wore a suit last night, but this… was something else. The black suit dulled his hair and eyes and the jacket took away from his form, the lilac clung to his sides and the gray slacks make his hair look more silver.

Viktor must catch him staring because when Yuuri finally looks up at his face Viktor is smirking and Yuuri has the decency to blush.

When his cuffs are buttoned, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, “wouldn’t wanna forget.”

“Forget?” Viktor taps on the screen a few times before handing it to Yuuri.

“Could I have your number?” His confident attitude falters, “I mean… only if you want.”

Maybe Yuuri’s so surprised he takes too long because Viktor’s hand retracts, his phone with it. Yuuri reaches out quick to stop it from disappearing back into his pocket.

“O- of course! I’d really like that.”

 

Viktor leaves shortly after that, leaving Yuuri rubbing at his forehead where Viktor kissed in departure. When he finally gains his wits he jumps from the counter and runs back into the bedroom diving onto the bed for his phone.

He opens his Favorites and clicks the first contact, biting his knuckles while it rings. “Come _on._ ”

“Good morning my promiscuous friend.”

“Are you busy right now?” He ignores Phichit’s _very rude_ words, after all it was Phichit who practically _forced_ this situation upon him, no matter how absolutely incredible last night was.

“For you? Never. What can I do?”

Yuuri started pulling on his suit pants and socks, “can you pack up a bunch of random shit for me, like all my bathroom stuff, a bunch of clothes, some books, random homey things, I don’t know,” he rattled off what he could think of.

“Uhm…” Yuuri could already hear Phichit start to move through their apartment, “sure… but, why?”

“You said I have to scare Viktor off.”

“ _Viktor_ is it? Oh, I thought I recognized him, he’s from N Corp.”

“Right, why else would he have been at the party last night,” Yuuri says pulling on his shoes and almost falling over.

“Mm true, but I think he’s pretty important. And I said you could _try_ to scare Viktor off but you don’t _have_ to, Yuuri, you could have a very nice rela-”

“Oh!” Yuuri snaps his fingers, “I should set up a shrine for Vicchan over here, that would be so _weird!_ Pack up some things for that would you, I’ll be right over.”

“Wait, Yu-” Yuuri ends the call and grabs his white button up, his tie, and jacket before running out the door. He pulls the key from under the flower pot and locks the door, and he’s about to put the key back when he thinks better of it, pocketing it instead.

~*~

Yuuri and Phichit pulled up to Viktor’s with bags of clothes and other belongings just in time to see a sour puss kid trying to kick in the door. They both look to each other then back to the kid, “Viktor! Let me in _blyad_!”

“Oh god…” Yuuri was starting to rethink this entire thing when the boy started spewing out more Slavic sounding words.

“Come on, let’s go meet the in-laws.”

“Wait!” Yuuri grabbed his arm, “what if he’s from the Bratva!?”

“Yuuri…” Phichit gave him an unreadable look, “he’s way too small.”

“Evil doesn’t care about age!” Yuuri insisted.

The kid turned to look at them now, noticing the sound of the car running. Yuuri squeaked and quickly shut the engine down, “shite.”

“No choice now.” Phichit got from the car and waved with a big smile, “hey! Who are you?”

“Who am I?” The kid spits, “who the _khuy_ are you?”

Yuuri climbs out of the car and pulls some of his things with him, he tries his best to not sound like an imposter when he says, “I’m Vitya’s boyfriend… just moving some things in.”

The boy looks at his full arms then at the packed out back seat and raises his eyebrows, “ _some_ things?”

“Y- yeah we’re a-”

“They’re pretty serious!” Phichit chirps, “nothing for you to worry about.”

“I’ve never heard of you.”

“Ah… well…” _Here goes nothing,_ “you know Vitya,” Yuuri shrugs, hoping to god that that’s a good enough excuse.

The boy’s eyebrows scrunch down like he’s thinking about something, but then he shoves his hands in his pockets and says, “yeah.”

_Really, that’s it?_

The boy’s lips curl, “you just gonna stand there?” He stomps down the stairs and pulls the cars back door open and pulls another couple bags out, “I’ll help if you can’t fucking do it yourselves.”

“Thanks…” The three of them move up to the steps and Yuuri unlocks the door, as they walk into the house Yuuri says to the boy, “I’m Yuuri, by the way.”

The boy turns to him as if Yuuri’s just spilled a drink on him and kicked him in the shins, he scoffs and turns away again.

Yuuri can only stare at him in shock before he turns to Phichit and is offered a sardonic smile from his friend. Yuuri rubs at his forehead, “and this is Phichit.”

“Fine.”

“Uhm, so wha-”

“Do you _ever_ shut up? You and Viktor are perfect together. It’s Yuri.”

“Yeah…”

“ _I’m_ Yuri,” he growled.

Yuuri matched Phichit’s sardonic smile from just a moment ago in an attempt to keep calm. _Are we being punk’d?_

Yuri dropped the bags he carried on the dining room table, dropped into a chair and kicked his feet up on the table. “You gonna offer me a drink or what?”

“S- sure, yeah. What do you want? Water… uh” Yuuri didn’t hide his eyes from looking over Yuri’s small form, “some milk?”

“What?! Get me some vodka!”

“How old are you?”

“I’m Russian!”

“Right.” Phichit could be seen quietly laughing behind a hand in the corner.

Yuri’s eyes followed Yuuri into the kitchen, the man fumbled around the cabinets looking for a glass, “the cabinet next to the microwave…”

“Ah, yes of course…” Yuuri moved across the kitchen to pull it open, “I knew that.”

From the corner of his eye he saw Yuri sit up and squint his eyes at Yuuri, “what’s going on here?”

“Oh shit! Yuuri!” Phichit pulls a chair back and falls into it, “he figured you out quick!” He laughed. Yuuri set the glass on the counter and rushed back into the dining room.

“Oh gross, you’re just a nasty stalker!” Yuri stood up fast in a defensive position.

“No! it’s nothing like that! I’m just trying to annoy Viktor!”

Yuri’s scowl fell, he crossed his arms now but this time it didn’t seem so cautious, a smirk creeped up on his face, “now that, I can get on bored with.”

 

Yuri gave Yuuri his number - _“call me whenever you need advice, I enjoy nothing more than bothering the idiot,” -_ and left them to set up, Viktor would be home soon.

~*~

With both hands Viktor pushed his hair back from his face and let out a deep breath, _and this morning started out so good._ He climbs into his car and throws his briefcase into the back seat. Nothing for the rest of the weekend, there’s always a meeting on Saturday morning after a deal is closed with a client and yesterday, they had closed with Ciao BB.

It was all about closing up some loose ends, but Viktor was excited to get home, sip some tea and crack open that novel he’s been itching to read.

Except when Viktor pulls up to his house, he has a feeling something isn’t right. He cautiously walks up his drive way and onto his porch. Viktor is glad his neighbors know him otherwise they might’ve called the cops on the suspicious man on the porch looking in the windows.

He doesn’t see anything, _maybe I’m mistaken._

He’s not mistaken. Yuuri’s still here. He’s sipping out of a mug at the kitchen table – _where did that mug come from?_ – and reading the book Viktor was just thinking about on his ride home.

Yuuri peaks over the novel and grins, “ _anata_ , you’re home!” He puts everything on the table and stands up. Viktor keeps himself from grimacing, but he is unsuccessful in hiding the obvious hysteria leaking out of his eyes. Yuuri doesn’t comment on this, instead enveloping Viktor in a hug. “I just finished unpacking!”

“Unpacking…”

“That’s why you left me the key, right? I set up all my things!”

Viktor pulled from his embrace, his cheeks were tight with his forced smile and his eyes barely open with the way his eyes crinkled shut, “excuse me,” Viktor all but runs from the room and into his bedroom.

His hands come up to his face and he whispers into them, “ _what_ the _fuck_. Is happening?!”

With one hand he pulls the cell phone from his pocket and dials Christophe, as the dial rings he opens one eye. The comforter is different, instead of his maroon down comforter it was a navy blue. He walks over to run a hand over it, his lips in a deep frown.

“Hello,” Christophe singsonged.

“ _Chris!_ I know it’s been a while but surely this isn’t typical behavior!?”

“Whoa, what did I miss?” and Viktor could practically hear his stupid grin.

“He’s moved in?”

“Are you asking me? Who, _mon ami_?”

“Yuuri!”

“The little brat? Why would he want to live with you?”

“No! Would you _listen_!”

“I _am_ listening. Do calm down, Vik, this look doesn’t do you any favors.”

Viktor walks into the master bathroom, a brown toothbrush sits in a new toothbrush holder next to his pink one. “Yuuri, the guy I took home last night-”

“The Asian beauty.”

“ _Yes,”_ he grits out through his teeth. “He stayed the night, fine. I left this morning for a meeting and I was _very_ clear in telling him to… go home. But he’s still _here!_ ”

Christophe tsk’d on the line, Viktor pulled his vanity’s drawers open, stuff that wasn’t here before, he pulls out a pill bottle, “what is this?” he asks out loud.

“What’s what?” Christophe actually sounds annoyed now.

“Nothing.”

“Honestly, Viktor. I knew you would do this.”

“Do _what?!”_

“You can’t even make it two days, are you gonna give up so soon?”

“G- give up… Chris I don’t think you under-”

“I understand perfectly, _I’m Viktor Mikhailovich Nikiforov and I won’t even give one relationship a try._ Just try to last two weeks Viktor, I promise you’ll survive.”

Viktor’s barely listening, he’s just caught a glimpse into the garbage, he pulls out a familiar purple bottle, his facemask, upon further inspection he sees _all_ of his facial products are in the garbage. His gasp is audible as he untwists the cap to the container.

“So dramatic, is what I’m saying so unbelievable,” Chris asks unaware of the dire situation.

The container has been scooped clean, he pulls the rest out and it’s the same. Yuuri’s cleaned him out. He could cry, actual tears.

“I don’t think I could ever last two weeks with a monster like this,” Viktor squeaks out.

“You’re absolutely ridiculous, I won’t let you live it down if you end it with this boy.”

“But Chris! He’s thrown out all my beauty products!” Viktor protests. Quiet. He looks at his phone, Christophe has hung up on him. And that’s too bad because if he hadn’t, he would have heard the one thing Viktor really needed him to hear, the one thing that would’ve gotten Christophe on his side.

“Vitya, _darling!?”_

Viktor swallows, dropping the empty container back into the trash. He looks at his graveyard trashcan solemnly, his eye twitches, and with one deep breath he squares himself off. “Two weeks,” he says to no one but himself, “I can do this. For myself, to get the media off my back.”

He exits the bathroom, pulls his tie off and leaves the bedroom, Yuuri stands just outside the door with his hands behind his back and a sickly-sweet smile on his face, “is something wrong, Vitya?”

“N- no, Yuuri… Why don’t I… give you a tour.” He side-steps Yuuri and goes to walk away, out of the corner of his eye he sees Yuuri’s smile drop and something like disbelief cross his features. When he whips around to catch it, Yuuri’s already smiling again.

“I would _love_ that, though I already got a pretty good look as I unpacked.”

“Uh, what is that,” Viktor starts walking into his living room.

Yuuri laughs, “it’s _your_ house, silly.”

“ _Ha_ , right. But this isn’t mine.” Viktor goes to pick up a little frame sitting on some sort of… mini altar. A very intricate brown cabinet rests on his wall where there was nothing early today, - or ever practically, - a candle, and the picture Viktor picks up which seems to be a younger Yuuri and a sweet looking puppy.

“Oh yes, this is a shrine for my puppy, Vicchan,” then he adds quietly with a small bow, “rest in peace.”

Viktor puts the frame down, he didn’t expect this when Yuuri said he moved some of his things in, but he couldn’t blame him for bringing a piece of his family with him. Viktor loves dogs and wouldn’t fault the other man for his soft side, “this is…”

~*~

Yuuri waits for it, waits for Viktor to glare at him and tell him he’s crazy. Yuuri was surprised when Viktor exited his bedroom and acted like all was normal. _Does he think this is normal?_ The shrine for Vicchan would certainly be the tipping point, _right?_

“This is…” Yuuri holds his breath, waiting for the man to explode, kick him out, _anything._ “sweet,” Yuuri barely manages to conceal his shock, Viktor turns to face him and he looks _mournful._ “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“O- oh, right,” Yuuri’s voice softens to match Viktor’s, “thank you, Vitya.”

“Now about all my products in the bathroom,” Viktor starts to scold, Yuuri falls back on his heels. He stands and practically runs away into the kitchen, Viktor follows.

“Ah, Vitya, we’ll get you all new products! Vegan ones!”

“Vegan? Are you a vegan?”

“No.”

“Oh… Well those were vegan, I may eat meat but I don’t like to buy stuff that’s tested on animals.”

“Oopsies!” Yuuri shrugs and skips ahead faster. “I looked through your fridge! Tomorrow we’ll need to go grocery shopping,” he scolds, “what are you, a bachelor?!”

Viktor practically jolts back, “t- technically…”

“Well,” Yuuri spins to face Viktor and taps him on the cheek, putting on his sweetest smile, Viktor cringes back at the sight of it, “we’ll change that, won’t we.”

Viktor manages a weak smile, “mhm,” he agrees. _Maybe this is working after all,_ Yuuri thinks.

_Just gotta do this for a couple more days. He’ll be running in two more, at most._

(Meanwhile Viktor was thinking, _just gotta make it through two weeks._ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you're wondering where Makkachin is ;)
> 
>  
> 
> _blyad: motherfucker_  
>  _khuy: dick_


	3. Day Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cutting it close! But here's chapter three!!

Viktor’s never used a shopping cart in a grocery store… he just grabs whatever can fit in his hands or gets one of those basket things. What does Yuuri plan to _do_ with all those ingredients?

Viktor stares at the peppers a little too long as Yuuri peruses the lettuces. “Vitenka! Romaine or iceberg?”

“Ro-” Viktor froze only just realizing what Yuuri had said. _Vitenka?_

 

_“How’d you get this number?”_

_“Uh… please don’t be this way, you gave it to me just yesterday, Yura.”_

_“Fine, what do you want?”_

_“Something embarrassing… like… hmm, nicknames or diminutives?” Yuuri said more like a question._

_“How long have you been in Russia, you still don’t know how to use our names?”_

_“Ciao BB only opened a branch here four months ago!”_

_“Whatever, I’ll tell you what you wanna hear. Viktor Mikhailovich to anyone he’s not familiar with, he probably told you to call him Vitya.”_

_Yuuri hummed in agreement._

_“Well, that’s fine and everything but to_ embarrass _him, you’ll wanna call him Vitenka,” Yuri growls the name, like it’s personally offended him._

_“This is confusing.”_

_“Shut up. Vitenka’s more for… a private moment. Shut up.”_

_“I didn’t say anything.”_

_“It’s used in private between… lovers. Or when a mother talks with her child. Like in your country, Piggy-Chan.”_

_“Oh, when you compare it to -chan I get it… wait… Do you watch anime, Yura?” Yuuri couldn’t help smirking, not like the boy could see it through the phone._

_“I’m hanging up!”_

_“Yura-” the phone lit up in Yuuri’s peripheries signaling the end of the phone call. “I was just gonna say we should watch together sometime, sheesh.” Yuuri says to no one._

“What?” Yuuri asked as Viktor’s head snapped over to the snickering kids, one of them was pointing and Viktor couldn’t fight the blush that stained his cheeks.

“Romaine,” he tries again making his way towards Yuuri.

“Hmm, both,” he decides on his own tossing both lettuces into the cart.

“Y’know Yuuri,” Viktor begins softly, “Vitenka’s more for like… well… for between lovers.”

Yuuri doesn’t even look up at him, “we’re lovers.”

 _Since when?_ Viktor’s mind screamed, _one time barely constitutes…_ “Yeah… mmm, I just mean, in public it’s better if you… call me Vitya.”

Yuuri’s head whips up, “but… _everyone_ calls you Vitya,” Yuuri pouts his lips and hunches his shoulders. “I thought I was special.”

“D- don’t cry,” Viktor steps back, yet reaches forward to place a hand on Yuuri’s arm. Yuuri must sense his discomfort with tears because just like that his eyes water. “You can call me whatever you want, _solnyshko.”_

“N- no… you said,” Yuuri sniffs and turns his hunched back to Viktor, “you said _not to_.”

Viktor has half a mind to drop to his knees and _beg_ to keep Yuuri from waling in this store. “No,” he says firmly, “I mean it, call me whatever you want, Yuuri.

Yuuri straightens and when he turns back to face Viktor his eyes have dried up as though they were never on the verge of spilling in the first place, “right… good then.”

“Good…” Viktor’s unsure what to do at this point so he pulls Yuuri into a hug, he only reciprocates for a moment before he’s pushing Viktor away.

“Vitenka… no huggies in public. That’s private.”

Yuuri turns the cart and walks down the aisle now that he’s accomplishes his vegetable list, Viktor stares dumbfounded. “Oh, yeah, _that’s_ private,” he mumbles following after Yuuri. _Huggies?_

~*~

Yuuri giggled to himself as he lugged the groceries from Viktor’s car up to the house, he only managed to embarrass Viktor that first time he called him _Vitenka_ , then it seemed as though he had resigned himself to his fate. But at least he got a couple snickers out of some kids shopping with their parents and some looks from a few older men.

Yuuri had to be impressed though, Viktor wasn’t acting as though he’d been emasculated by Yuuri’s teasing, can’t say that about a couple of men Yuuri knew…

“Yuuri, what are you laughing about over there?”

“Er, just… sometimes I just laugh randomly, perfectly normal for me.”

“Uh… okay.”

They both unpacked the groceries together, Viktor seemed deep in thought so Yuuri allowed him room to think. An itch at the back of his throat suggested Viktor was thinking of getting rid of him. That would mean he’s won but… Yuuri wanted a little more time. That was a scary thought, but he couldn’t help it.

“Yuuri-” Yuuri was snapped from his thoughts as Viktor waved a hand in front of his face.

“Hm… yes?”

Viktor shuffled back and forth from foot to foot. “It’s just… now correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t really have a lot of relationship experience – but I didn’t think people usually move in together so quickly…”

Yuuri’s eyes widened, _uh oh_ it seems as though Viktor’s seen through his first excuse of ‘you left the key for just this reason, right?’ and now Yuuri needed to come up with an actual excuse to stay.

Yuuri bit the inside of his cheek and tasted the iron, the pain sprouted tears to pool in his eyes, one spilled over, _perfect. Thank you Phichit, for the drama lessons._ “it’s just…”

“Oh my god,” Viktor’s foot stepped back as if to run away. Just like in the grocery store, _this guy really can’t stand tears,_ but to Yuuri’s surprise Viktor re-evaluated his movements and moved closer to Yuuri this time. “D- don’t cry, I’m. I’m just asking for some clarification.”

“They’ve raised my _rent,_ ” Yuuri spit out the first thing that came to mind. Now Yuuri moved up to Viktor and pressed against his chest, rubbing a hand up and down his arm, “I don’t know you very well, but… they don’t have to know that. We don’t have to show that.”

“Who?”

“Well… your neighbors.”

“I don’t care what my neighbors think.”

“Oh…” Yuuri smiles up at him from under his dark lashes, chewing on his lip, “I _knew_ you wouldn’t mind! You’re _so_ kind, Vitya,” he batted his eye lashes as best as he could, just like they do in the movies.

“O- oh, well. Of course, Yuuri.”

“It doesn’t matter if we fake it, we can taste what it’s like to love!” Yuuri exclaimed, stepping back and taking Viktor’s hands in his own so he could look up at Viktor fully.

A pink tint covered Viktor’s cheeks, “r- right… so, what do we do with all of this. Uhm. Food?”

“I’m gonna make you dinner, like the perfect wife!” He skipped around and started looking through the cabinets.

Out of the corner of his eye, Yuuri saw Viktor cringe, but he managed to hold back his laughter, “wife… right… _ha_ I’m gonna go make a phone call.”

“O~ kay! But hurry back, honey bear, so I can teach you cooking one-on-one!”

“Can’t wait!” Viktor yelled as he ran out of the room.

~*~

Cooking with Yuuri had actually been really enjoyable, Viktor got to see another side to Yuuri, a _calmer_ side. Yuuri was very relaxed while cooking, and when Viktor mentioned it Yuuri had bit his bottom lip and explained how he grew up cooking with his father.

The dish they made together was a favorite from Yuuri’s childhood and he was very meticulous with each ingredient, Viktor had forgotten to participate at one point, deciding just to watch Yuuri work. Yuuri had scolded him for this, but it was back to his teasing from the first night they met, and Viktor would _swoon_.

Maybe this is just part of the relationship aspect, the ups and downs at the beginnings. Sure, you don’t usually move in together the first day you meet… but Yuuri had a good enough reason, and Viktor’s not the sort of monster to leave a man out in the cold. Nothing about Yuuri was all that bad, in fact all the good things about Yuuri were _really_ good and Viktor wanted to explore more of them.

Especially the things they shared together in bed that night.

Viktor clears the table once they’re done eating, “thank you, Vitya,” Yuuri says from his seat.

“What happened to Vitenka?” Viktor hums in question.

“Wha- that’s what I said!”

“No it’s not!” Viktor can’t help giggling, Yuuri’s face flushes and he pouts, it’s too cute.

Viktor swings around the table and pulls Yuuri’s chair away from the table, he moves around the chair and plops himself right in Yuuri’s lap, he rests his arms across Yuuri’s shoulders and moves to kiss at his neck.

“How can I thank you for dinner, Yuuri?”

Yuuri’s hands come up to rest on his hips, “tha- that’s a good question… uhm…”

Viktor pulls away from his neck and looks Yuuri in the eye, the man seems to melt under Viktor’s gaze, his pupils blow out and there’s hardly any brown left to see.

They move in simultaneously, a soft kiss to test the waters, though they’ve been here before, then it deepens and Viktor’s licking at Yuuri’s lip asking for entrance. Yuuri allows it and Viktor grinds down against Yuuri. They sit there entwined in each other for a long time, until Viktor pulls back to admire Yuuri’s swollen lips.

He kisses Yuuri again and this time as he pulls away he stands and takes hold of Yuuri’s hand to pull him up with him.

Viktor kisses him again and walks backwards towards the bedroom. Yuuri speaks against his lips, “where are we going?”

“Mm... the bedroom?”

Yuuri stops in his tracks, completely pulling away from Viktor now, “Oh… I c- couldn’t,” Yuuri seems to pull into himself.

“Wha- why? Is something wrong?” There has to be something wrong, right? Because everything was going so smoothly.

Yuuri wipes a hand across his lips and clears his face, Viktor’s dumbfounded with how quickly he wiped to a clean slate. Viktor looks down at Yuuri’s jeans where he _swears_  he felt Yuuri’s interest just a moment ago.

“Nothing wrong, no.” Yuuri moves to clean the dishes. “It’s just, I’m… I’m a born-again virgin… y’know so I can’t do anything. I, uh, _won’t_  do anything with you.”

Viktor’s confused. Understandably. He steps forward and grabs at Yuuri’s waist to turn him around. There’s something about Yuuri’s expression, he’s uncomfortable, he looks worried.

Something clicks, “ _Yuuri_ , _oh my_ \- I hope I didn’t force you to do anything the other night!?”

“No!” Yuuri finally looks Viktor in the eye, “no! It’s new, just yesterday in fact! I thoroughly enjoyed the other night!”

Viktor’s eye brows scrunch down, “you did? Cause it sounds like you didn’t, was I that bad?”

“You were _too good!_ I prayed all day while I waited for you to get home-”

“And moved in,” Viktor mumbled.

“- and God told me, I need to take a break, wait until marriage! And it will be even better, can you believe it, Vitya?! As soon as we get married, we’ll have even _better_ sex!”

“Right… married. Sounds like you have a date in mind, already.” Viktor forces out a laugh, “should we be printing out Save The Date’s _ha ha~”_ His face has definitely morphed into something horrific, but he can’t pull out his signature smile. It’s buried too deep.

“Don’t be _silly!”_ Yuuri slapped at Viktor’s arm gently, _thank god,_ “but I do know what you can do to thank me for dinner.” Yuuri smiled sweetly.

Viktor’s face finally relaxed at the change of topic, “anything,” he breathed out.

Yuuri stepped towards him and tapped at his cheek, “you can do the dishes, Vitenka.” Then he stepped around Viktor and went to go sit on the couch.

Viktor watched him go, then turned to look at the sink which was overflowing with dishes, “I would _love_ to.” He mumbles to himself, “this is why I eat out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaah i know as a fandom we like to throw around Vitenka willy nilly and save Vitya for those intimate moments! But I read a post about russian diminutives, check it out:  
> http://niedolia.tumblr.com/post/158793053134/psa-for-the-yoi-fandom-russian-names-how-to-use  
> (thanks for the link Nefariosity)
> 
> ALSO! nothing against waiting until marriage to have sex! You should do as you please!!  
> thanks for reading <3


	4. Day Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _It isn’t until Viktor’s pulling the towel Yuuri wrapped on his head off and wiping the steam from the mirror that he screams. He thinks he hears laughter from the other room but he knows that can’t be true because no one would laugh at this._
> 
>  
> 
> _“So-” a cough, “something wrong?” Yuuri shouts from the other room._
> 
>  
> 
> _“Yuuri, what did you do!?”_

Going for a run seems like the only option to receive some alone time to think, so when he wakes up on the second day of living with Yuuri – a pillow shoved between them on the bed ( _“Don’t get any ideas, Vitya.”_ ) – that’s what he does.

Wait… not _living_ together, just… co-habiting. Because living together meant they had to have been boyfriends first. They would’ve been in a secure relationship where Viktor would want to get on one knee and present Yuuri with the shiny silver key to his home.

When Viktor trips over a wonky crack in the sidewalk he snaps out of his thoughts, _what am I even thinking about?!_ He tries to focus on where his feet are moving, though quickly failing and falling back into thoughts of the man in his bed at home.

If Yuuri doesn’t want to have sex again then that’s fine, maybe they had rushed things in the first place, if Viktor wants to do this right… make it last, they should use this time together to get to know each other.

Viktor knows he’s been gone for an hour when he comes to a stop in front of his house, because he runs the same route every day. The sun is higher in the sky now and the roads are busy with cars. He pulls out his phone to check any missed messages while he stretches out his legs.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/30975453637/in/dateposted-public/)

Viktor puts his phone back in his pocket after tapping out a reply and moves up his driveway, “did my car move?” He observes the crooked angle at which it’s parked, _well it was a long day, yesterday._

Viktor is used to coming home to an empty, quiet house. Maybe he’s a little excited to have someone to come home to.

~*~

When Yuuri wakes Viktor’s side of the bed is still warm, he squints at his phone, ten to nine. He rolls onto his back to check his notifications and after clicking through a few of boring things he opens his email. Yuuri is surprised to see an email from an animal shelter he reached out to a couple weeks ago.

When he reads the email, a smile stretches across his face, this couldn’t have been more perfect timing. Yuuri jumps from the bed and runs into the bathroom, with more energy than he’s had this early in a long time.

He squirts the toothpaste onto his tongue and shoves the brush into his mouth. Back in the bedroom he brushes with one hand while the other tugs on some joggers, he slips his socked feet into the Viktor’s house slippers and runs out the door, only just grabbing his coat.

Yuuri only makes it two feet onto the porch before he’s back inside laying his toothbrush on the counter and grabbing Viktor’s keys. _He won’t mind if I borrow this._

 

 

Yuuri got home with the squirmy fur ball in record time, it helps that he had set up this adoption weeks ago and was just waiting for his baby girl to grow a little. Luckily Viktor wasn’t home yet, Yuuri figured they’d go for supplies later, he had some at his and Phichit’s apartment that he had bought in preparation, but he couldn’t bring Viktor _there._

For now, Yuuri carried the wiggly baby into the house and let her loose to cause a little destruction. Then, when she was a little too well behaved, Yuuri caused a little destruction as well.

It wasn’t long before Viktor got home.

Apparently, Viktor Nikiforov adapts quite quickly to surprising situations. When the man walked in Yuuri let the puppy loose – not like he had a good grip on her anyway – with a half-hearted, “no, baby, no.”

She ran through the potted plant Yuuri had (gently) knocked over and let spill a little and jumped into the arms of a man who was already falling to the floor to greet the little pup.

Viktor had practically melted to his knees, “and who’s th- oomph,” her dirtied paws hit Viktor’s chest harder than he realized and he caught the puppy as his back hit the floor. She squirmed in his arms and when he let her go she traipsed all across him, moving up lick at his face.

She was obviously over-excited, stepping on his nose and licking into his mouth as he laughed. Yuuri put a hand to his mouth to keep his smile in check, this was too adorable, he pulled out his phone to take pictures. Viktor tried to press his lips together to keep her intrusive tongue at bay, to no avail. He pushed her body, but she was too lithe and quick and attacked with fervor.

Yuuri didn’t know Viktor liked dogs and he certainly didn’t expect this. Yuuri’s chest tightened at the display, always unable to resist and man with such a soft side. Viktor rolled on the floor, cracking up under the constant attack of the puppy. His hands covering his face to keep the dogs licks away, she stopped over him and sniffed under his armpits where he’d tucked them against his body to hide his face.

The sweet sound that came out of him made Yuuri fall to his knees and move closer to the two, he didn’t want to stop their playing, because he _loved_ it, but he wanted to see Viktor’s face again. “Alright, alright,” he coaxed the puppy away from Viktor, only just catching her in his grip.

Viktor finally sat up into a pretzel, “I didn’t know you had a puppy, Yuuri.” And maybe Yuuri took a little too long to answer, stuck starting at Viktor’s pink cheeks and the bright smile, which folded up like a heart – _so cute_ – and Yuuri hasn’t seen him light up like this since their dance the other night. Viktor’s hair was wind swept, though from his actual run or from the puppy’s attack Yuuri wasn’t sure.

“I…” He had to remember himself now, because he was here for a reason. And so was the puppy. “I got her for us! She can be our new daughter~ A great bonding experience!”

Viktor finally looked around, taking in the mess of the room but when he looked towards Yuuri again he wasn’t upset like Yuuri expected, he had the same bright smile until he bit into his bottom lip, the corners of his mouth still pulled up, his eyebrows raised. He let out an amused huff and shook his head.

“Well… I _love_ her, so… accepted.” He pets her absentmindedly, his heavy hand keeping her in place at his knee, “what’s her name?”

“Oh… well,” Yuuri hadn’t thought about it yet, “I want you to name her, Vitya.”

Viktor’s shoulders scrunched up in excitement, he settled and put a finger to his chin, “hmm, I’ll think about it!” He declared. He lifts her up from under her legs and holds her up to his face, “who will you be, sweet girl?”

She licks his lips again and both men laugh now.

Yuuri stands and pulls Viktor up, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

Viktor looks down at himself, “oh,” he says noticing the dirt all over his clothes and arms. He puts a hand to his face and it comes away brown, “gross,” looking around again he says, “we should clean in here first.”

 

 

They clean up and the puppy finally settles down, Yuuri puts her on the couch to lay down while they shower, and he whispers to her, “make sure to make another mess while we’re gone, okay?” He takes he paw and shakes it as if they have an agreement.

Yuuri pushes himself up against Viktor’s back and hugs around him, “why don’t you hop in the shower to rinse that dirt off. And I’ll… start a bath?”

“Mm… a bath?”

“Yeah…” Yuuri pushes his fingers into Viktor’s hair, “you’ve been working so hard, you deserve to relax… let me take care of you.”

Viktor melted into his touch, “okay.”

Yuuri practically runs into the bathroom ahead of Viktor and starts the tap on the tub. He rummages into the back of the cabinets and pulls out a box he hid there yesterday, reading the instructions quickly.

_Wash hair first and towel dry_

_Once in hair, let sit for 20 minutes_

_Wash out with conditioner_

_Will last for two weeks._

He tucked the dye bottle next to the tub where Viktor wouldn’t see it, “are you coming, Vitya?”

“Coming!”

~*~

Yuuri massaged at Viktor’s scalp, he melted into the tub letting Yuuri’s thighs keep him from going under. It really was relaxing, Viktor let his eyes fall closed, letting the warm water envelope him, the candles burning on the counter made a nice scent.

Except… one of them kind of smelt like gasoline.

“My friend was wondering if we’d come to dinner tonight?”

Yuuri chuckled, “sure Vitya, I’d like that… which friend? Should I be jealous?”

“Of course not. His boyfriend will be there as well, Masumi.”

Yuuri let the conditioner sit in Viktor’s hair for a while, rubbing at his shoulders and discussing dinner plans and what to do with their new puppy throughout.

“We can bring her with us to pick out some stuff, get her a crate until she’s trained… that way she won’t make a mess while we’re at dinner.”

“I suppose that’s a good idea. Who knows what she’s doing out there right this minute,” Viktor laughs.

When Yuuri rinses Viktor’s hair, the water runs a faint pinkish color, “did you put something in the water, Yuuri?”

“No… it’s just the conditioner I used.”

“What _did_ you use?” Viktor turns to look for the bottle but Yuuri catches his head and holds it straight ahead.

“Hold still, just once more,” Yuuri lathers up his head again and when he starts massaging it into Viktor’s scalp again, he can’t help but forget what they were talking about.

It isn’t until Viktor’s pulling the towel Yuuri wrapped on his head off and wiping the steam from the mirror that he screams. He thinks he hears laughter from the other room but he _knows_ that can’t be true because no one would laugh at _this_.

“So-” a cough, “something wrong?” Yuuri shouts from the other room.

“ _Yu_ uri, _what_ did you _do_!?” Viktor picks up a strand of his _pink_ hair and tries to hold it in front of his eyes, it’s a bit blurry but it’s definitely pink. He whimpers at the sight.

“Uh oh,” Yuuri says from the doorway, he leans against the wall and crosses his arms, his lips are pulled into his mouth, “how’d you do that?” He asks

“How’d I do this?” Viktor repeats. “You did this to me,” Viktor falls into panic laughter, he drops the towel and forgets to hold up the one around his waist as he marches towards Yuuri and chases his retreating body out of the bathroom.

“Eep,” Yuuri tries to run but Viktor tackles him to the bed, climbing on top of him.

“My perfect, beautiful, _silver_ hair! Gone! Look what you’ve done to me,” he tickles Yuuri’s abdomen and under his arms.

“V- Vit, you’re- aaaaah, naked!” He gasps. Viktor doesn’t even look down at himself, he knows, he only stops tickling Yuuri to reach over and pull a pillow over him groin.

Yuuri flips onto his back and struggles to free himself, “that’s my pillow!”

“Good,” Viktor starts tickling him again. “That’s what you get! Now open your eyes and look at what you’ve done.”

Tears well up in Yuuri’s closed eyes, “I- I ca- can’t! Stooooop~” he whines. He finally manages to kick Viktor off, he falls onto the floor, pillow and all.

Yuuri stands from the bed, “I don’t think that’s my fault.”

Viktor moves to stand up, “why you little,” but Yuuri’s already giggling and running out the door.

~*~

“Wow, that’s a nice new look, Vik.” Christophe greets them in front of Bella Bella, Yuuri had suggested it as it was his favorite restaurant, Christophe had laughed and said it was an unusual choice but was “all about it,” Viktor’s never heard of it.

Viktor acknowledges Masumi first, rolling his eyes towards Christophe. Then he accepts Christophe’s hug, matching his cheek kiss with one of his own. “Shut up, Christophe, I look good in anything.”

“Well, that’s what I said isn’t it?”

But Viktor’s already talking over him, “Masumi, Chris, this is Yuuri. Yuuri,” he takes the man’s hand, “these are my close friends.”

Yuuri’s smile is warm, he squeezes Viktor’s hand, “hi Chris,” he reaches out to take his hand but Christophe steps forward and pulls Yuuri into a hug, “ooph-”

“No handshakes here, mon ami.” Viktor can see Yuuri’s back tense as Christophe practically crushes the smaller man in his arms, but then Yuuri bends his arms to return the hug and his muscles bulge to accommodate the action, _well those are definitely arms. Gotta take advantage of those!_

When Christophe releases Yuuri he gestures to Masumi, “and mon coeur,” this time Masumi offers a hand and Yuuri breathes a soft sigh of relief.

“Good good! Can we go eat now,” Viktor half pushes his friend towards the door and out of the cold.

“Yes, jeez pushy.” Christophe chastises. Viktor shoots a betrayed look at Yuuri when he laughs but that only makes Yuuri laugh more.

Viktor’s only half way in Bella Bella when he realizes they’re not at a normal restaurant. Everything’s… pink. There’s a stage with a pole on it and glitter and… _oh_ drag queens. He grabs Yuuri’s wrist and whispers in his ear, “Yuuri, what is this place?”

Yuuri just smiles like he’s amused by something, “you asked what my favorite restaurant was… is this not… okay?” He flashes Viktor his puppy dog eyes and pouted his lips.

“Yeah, Vik, is this _not okay?_ ” Christophe came up next to Yuuri, crouching so they were the same height and offering another powerful pout. Viktor looks up past them at Masumi who just shakes his head with a soft smile.

“N- no! This is fine,” he reassures _Yuuri_ (not Chris), “I want to know more about you! So your favorite restaurant is the perfect way to do that!”

“Yay!” Yuuri cheers up quickly.

 

“Can I get the Hairy Mary,” Christophe orders confidently.

“What’s with these drink names?” Masumi’s eyebrows high.

Viktor’s cheeks pink as he orders, “uhm, the Pink Pussy please.”

Christophe laughs, “I never thought I’d see the day where Viktor Nikiforov asks for pussy!”

Viktor smacks his arm, “yell a little louder, Chris.”

“Don’t worry, hun, it’s the only pussy we’ve got here,” the queen taking their order promises with a pop of her bubble gum. “And you, sweetie?”

Yuuri puts his menu down, “the orgy bowl.”

She raises her eyebrows, “that’s for several people, y’know?”

“That’s fine, thanks.” He flashes a smile so she shrugs and turns to go.

When their drinks arrive, Yuuri’s is the size of a small fish bowl and Viktor’s eyes go wide, “uh… Yuuri. You’re gonna drink all that?”

“Ha, _no,_ Vitya, I’m gonna go for a _swim_! Of course I’m gonna drink it!” He starts sipping at it right away.

“Oh… good.” Viktor watches from the side of his eye as he sips at his Pink Pussy.

Once they’ve ordered and settled in, they talk amongst themselves while they drink. Christophe starts the questions quickly after that, “so, Yuuri, tell us about yourself! We need to know the man who has wooed our dear Vitya.

Yuuri’s been sipping his fish bowl the entire time now and he’s one fourth down, it looks like he has to think carefully about what he says. Viktor pulls his lips into his mouth to keep from laughing at the scene, _Yuuri’s so cute._ His cheeks a soft flush.

“Hmm,” he taps his chin, “I grew up in a hot spring, so nudity is no problem,” he shoots a wink at Viktor and Masumi’s laughing. “’ve got one sister, Mari, she kicks ass, literally. She used to pick fights at the bus stop when she was in high school.”

Viktor’s quietly laughing, leaning back in his chair, he mouths “what?” across to Chris who just shakes his head in amusement.

“My gay awakening was at twelve when the most beautiful sonovabitch did that swoosh swoosh thing on the ice, and I was like _wow!_ ” Yuuri throws his arms up, “though I didn’t realize it until I was fifteen and started masturbating.”

“You waited until you were fifteen to start masturbating?”

“That’s the question you ask?” Viktor shoots at Christophe, “what’s the swoosh swoosh thing on ice? Like basketball?”

Yuuri ignores Viktor, making Masumi chuckle into his drink, “my house had thin walls…”

“Why are you answering _that_ question?” Viktor asks flabbergasted. “I wanna see this guy!”

“Look him up, Niliforv. I don’t know where he is now, though.”

“What’s basketball on ice?” Masumi finally addresses the real questions.

“I don’t know,” Yuuri’s head juts back in bewilderment, “sounds really difficult? Should we go to an ice rink after this and try it?”

“Yuuri, you’ve already drank half of that, maybe it’s time to slow down.”

“So, Yuuri, did you do any sports.”

“Am I even here?” Viktor asks, but no one answers.

Yuuri nods his head to Christophe’s question, up and down in a big swing, “I’ve danced ballet my entire life. Haven’t been to the studio in a couple days though,” he contemplates with a finger to his lips.

“Oh, ballet, that’s nice.”

“I’ve dabbled in other styles but my heart always brings me back to ballet.”

“Tell us more.”

“I didn’t know you dance, Yuuri…”

“Then!” Yuuri turns to Viktor, _finally,_ “let’s dance!” His hand lands on Viktor’s thigh as he leans towards him, _very_ close to his groin, Viktor inadvertently tucks up towards his grip, his stomach clenches.

If Yuuri notices he doesn’t make it obvious, instead pulling Viktor up by his tie and onto the stage, “wai- Yuuri, I don’t think-”

Yuuri only has a chance to undulate against Viktor for three seconds before a queen comes up to them, “honey, you can’t dance up here unless you can move.”

“I can move,” Yuuri pouts.

She looks him up and down and points to the middle of the stage, “on that.”

Viktor and Yuuri both turn to look at what she pointed at, the pole. They turn to face each other and Viktor’s ready to get off the stage but Yuuri just smirks at him.

 

What follows is probably the sexiest thing Viktor’s ever seen. Yuuri works the pole like an actual stripper and Viktor wishes in that moment he were an innominate object, chanting to whatever god or demon that’ll listen, “make me that pole, make me that pole.”

Christophe joins him on stage soon enough and together they cause quite the scene. When Yuuri demands they move to a club with more space to dance, Viktor’s wishes come true because Yuuri does in fact, start to use Viktor like a pole. No, not really just like the pole but Viktor is so scared to rub his boner against Yuuri he just stands stock still as if he _were_ a pole.

“Loosen up, _Vitenka,”_ Yuuri murmured in his ear, licking up his neck and ear. “I’ll have to find a willing participant if you’re just gonna stand here.”

That got Viktor moving, and he started to match Yuuri’s step, dancing with Yuuri was the most free Viktor had felt in years. He’d never take this opportunity for granted.

~*~

Christophe and Masumi sat close in the back of the Uber on their drive home.

“So, that Yuuri, huh?” Masumi asks.

Christophe smiles down at his phone, swiping through the pictures he took, “he’s definitely something… I think he’ll be good for Viktor.”

Under the pink lights of Bella Bella, you can’t tell Viktor’s hair is pink but, in the club, the bright white lights of the strobe showed it off very well.

Masumi looked over his shoulder, “I thought Viktor was obsessed with his hair, why’d he dye it pink?”

“ _Ha~_ he told me in the club that Yuuri did it.”

“ _Wow._ That’s- He really kept his cool like that?”

“I seriously think Yuuri’s gonna be something special… that or this is gonna be an absolute mess.”

~*~

Viktor grabbed onto Yuuri’s hand over the center console, “let’s name her Makkachin.”

“Makkachin? Where’d you come up with that? What does it mean?”

“It just sounds cute?”

Viktor didn’t find her so cute when they returned home and found her laying in a pile of chewed toilet paper, the house a mess, paper pulled from the bathroom garbage, something yellow spilled across the kitchen floor, pee soaked into the carpet.

“I don’t think I locked the cage,” Viktor admitted.

Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.

“I thought having a puppy was supposed to be fun,” Viktor groaned.

“Are you upset,” Yuuri coaxed.

“Yes~”

“Oh yeah? Mad that I brought her home? Gonna take it out on me?”

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to cuddle me to make me feel better.”

Yuuri blanches. Viktor leans down to pet Makkachin, “come here baby, I’m sorry you had to go out and I wasn’t home to take care of you,” he coos.

“Nothing gets to you, huh?”

Viktor looks up at him, “hmm?” Yuuri couldn’t help but smile at his love-struck face.

“Nothing,” he sighs.

That night Viktor curls around Makkachin on his side of the bed.


	5. Day Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little late! Hoidays are BUSY!  
> 10,000 words! woohoo
> 
> WARNING: So again, I want to keep this rated teen but there is a short scene that falls above the teen category, if that's okay with you read on otherwise look to the end notes to see what it's all about!  
> If you'd like to skip it all together: stop reading at **Yuuri was no longer on the couch, so Viktor went looking for him.**  
>  and [ctrl] + [alt] + F to **The whistle did finally start to sing**

Viktor clicked on the link Christophe had sent him, _I told you this would work,_ he had said.

** N Corp’s Viktor Nikiforov seen out with new Boy Toy **

By Jasmine Qadiri

The CEO we all love to watch crash and burn was seen out with another man after what appears to be a botched dye job. We all know the silver isn’t natural, but it seems the hair dressers messed up this time around, turning the gorgeous silver to a pink.

[Photo of Viktor leaning back to admire mystery man dancing, his new pink hair bright under the fluorescent white lights]

It’s easy to say we haven’t seen Nikiforov with a smile quite like that before, does mystery man hold some promise? Or will he be just another one-night stand dumpee.

_Click for more…_

 

Viktor scoffed at the article, the slutty review, he was used to, but this _slander_ on his hair, “it _is_ natural!” He half shouts to no one.

Makkachin jumps at his shins, demanding attention, “what is?” Yuuri turns from where he’s watching the eggs cook.

“Er… my hair.”

“Pft… who says it’s not?”

“Uh…” Viktor doesn’t want to show Yuuri the article, doesn’t want to bring attention to the attention he garners from the media. “Christophe.”

“Hmm… well, it does look…” Yuuri shrugs and turns back to the stove.

Viktor perks up, he pouts hard and moves towards Yuuri at the stove, peaking around from behind, “looks what, hmm?”

Yuuri clicks his tongue, a soft smile pulling up his lips as he avoids eye contact with Viktor, “if it’s not natural, I won’t be disappointed, Vitya.”

Viktor throws his arms up and marches back towards the island, “not you too~, Yuuri! I was damn born with this hair! Came out of my mother’s canal with long silver hair right on my damn head!”

“Oh my god!” Yuuri bursts out laughing, “you’re ridiculous, you know that!?”

A smirk grows on Viktor’s face, “no one’s told me that before.”

Yuuri looks over his shoulder with an exasperated smile and chuckles. He flips the egg from the pan onto a plate and brings it over to Viktor, placing it in front of him at the island. “I make a good wife, right?” His words are playful but his stare sucks Viktor in and tugs.

Viktor can’t answer and then Yuuri is kissing his jaw and walking off, Viktor turns to watch him go, his hand idly comes up to brush the spot where Yuuri’s lips touched.

Yuuri’s eggs really are delicious.

~*~

“Hey, so there’s something I wanna do.”

Phichit scoffs over the line, “I don’t hear from you for two days and this is what I get? No _Hi Phichit. How are you, Phichit?_ The audacity.”

Yuuri ignores his best friend, “I wanna take Viktor to Japan.”

This shuts the other man up, Phichit is silent.

Yuuri hears clicking through the phone, “that’s uh… that’s a bold move Yuuri.”

“Come on, you don’t think that would be absolutely crazy?! I just book tickets and make him meet my family.”

“I didn’t say that, flights are a thousand, round trip.”

“You’re looking it up? I thought I’d have to convince you.”

“Yuuri,” Phichit’s voice is sober, “this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen you do, that includes everything that happened in college.”

“Wow… really?”

“Definitely.”

“Even that party on New Year’s with Bre-”

“Yeah. Even that.”

“Well, I’m glad I can be entertaining for you, Phichit, but we have a bet, and I just wanna win.”

“Honestly Yuuri, I just wanted to see you get some ass, and like you got it, yay I win. But I also thought maybe I could get you into a happy relationship. So how! How could I forget how effing competitive you are?”

“Ah…”

“I didn’t factor it in at all!”

“No, you did not.”

“Can you listen to your very special friend right now and just… chill out cause I just want what’s best fo-”

“Yeah, anyway Phichit. I only have ten days, so I want to make an exception to the bet.”

Phichit lets out a heavy and very exaggerated sigh, “and what would that be?”

“Flight days don’t count.”

“Flight days don’t count?”

“For the bet, travel will be an entire day, so I don’t want them to count towards my ten days.”

“So, it’ll really be twelve days.”

“Eh…”

“Well, that’s no skin off my chin.”

“That’s not the saying, Phi-”

“Alright Yuuri, deal updated. Now if we’re done here – because you only call me for personal gain – I have to get back to my children. They are begging for my attention, unlike _some_ people.”

“Wait, one more thing.”

Phichit hums, “fine, Master, what else can I do for you.”

Yuuri ignores Phichit’s quips, “can you find some people for me?”

~*~

When Yuuri comes out of the bedroom Viktor’s nowhere in sight but Makkachin sits chewing on a too-large-for-her-little-body squeaky alpaca toy, so they’re not out for a walk.

“Vitya?” He calls out to the seemingly empty house. He walks through the hall and into the kitchen, no one. “Did you sneak out on me, baby?”

“N- no,” Viktor’s voice comes through a closed door, “I’m in here.”

Yuuri finds the source of his voice, through the bathroom door. A smirk grows on his face, “where?” He asks but he knows where.

“The, um, the bathroom.”

“Oh,” Yuuri cozies up to the door, “you just hanging out in there?”

“Uhm… n- Did you need something?”

If anyone spoke to Yuuri while he was taking care of business in the bathroom, he would have an absolute heart attack, that’s why he takes this opportunity to continue talking with Viktor.

“I wanna go visit Hasetsu.” Yuuri hears the sound of a book closing.

“I’ll be out in just a min-”

“It’s only like a fifteen-hour flight… and then a two-hour train ride… not, uhm, too bad. I already booked tickets.”

Viktor sighs, it’s a light sound coming through the door, “well, that sounds like it would be really nice, Yuuri. When will you be going, you think?”

“I booked us flights for tomorrow.”

Nothing. Yuuri hears the toilet flushing, the sink running. And then the bathroom door opens and Yuuri only takes a small step back to allow Viktor to exit the bathroom. Their chests are just a couple centimeters apart.

“You booked _us_ a flight… for tomorrow?”

“We have to be at the airport by half past seven. We should get to Hasetsu by Eight.”

“Wow, half an hour,” Viktor forces a laugh, “that’s some quick travel. We going by floo powder?” His smile is ruined by the scrunch of his eye brows.

“That’s a good one, Vitya.”

Yuuri turns and walks towards the kitchen, leaving the bathroom behind.

Viktor follows after him, “Yuuri, I don’t, uh- I have work.”

Yuuri shrugs, “figured we could both use a vacation, your company just closed on a deal so what’s the harm.”

“I haven’t seen you work at all…”

“What’s that?” Yuuri’s voice hitched up in displeasure.

“Nothing… Just the CEO-” Yuuri trips over his feet, _CEO? He’s the CEO? Oh god…_ “-randomly taking a vacation… won’t look too great. I didn’t go in yesterday either. In fact,” he looks at his watch, “I’m kinda running late now…”

 _I’m really going to fuck up the relations between Ciao BB and N Corp…_ “Vitya.” Yuuri snaps, turning around, Viktor rolls back on his heels as if trying to soften the blow of the impact, “can’t you see our relationship is in trouble?”

Viktor blinks hard, “uh… no?”

“No?! You hardly look at me anymore!” Yuuri scrunches up his face in the way he knows scares Viktor, “I just- I just thought… we could take a couple days, really get to know each other.” He wipes his knuckles across his eyes at his pretend tears.

“Yuuri,” Viktor steps in close and pulls Yuuri into a hug. _Uh oh, I’m pretending to cry too much, he’s getting used to it._ “I’m sorry, let’s talk about this later, I have to go in now, I’ll talk to Yakov, I’m sure… I can probably work from Hasetsu.”

Yuuri wrapped his arms around Viktor and squeezed, “thanks, Viktor. I’m so excited for you to meet my family.”

Viktor squeaks, his grip around Yuuri slacking just for a moment, “you’re… family?”

“Alright,” Yuuri pulls back, “let’s get you ready for work. Did you finish up in there?”

Viktor’s cheeks turn pink, “yeah… I’ll just…” He slips out of Yuuri’s light grasp and practically runs to the bedroom, “-go get ready.”

Yuuri pulls his lips between his teeth to keep from laughing, _that flush is really beautiful though… Mari’s_ not _gonna believe I’ve brought this guy home._

Yuuri’s phone pings with a message, he pulls it out of his pocket to look at it.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/46004197312/in/dateposted-public/)

~*~

“What do you _mean_ you’re taking off for the rest of the week, Viktor Mikhailovich.”

“Oh, Yakov, don’t be like that. We just closed on a big deal, I have the time.”

“The Viktor I know would never talk like this,” the man gets up and pours himself a glass of whisky. “The CEO never has _time.”_

“I’ll work from there. It’s like a really long flight, I’ll spend the entire time working… who needs sleep.”

“ _It’s like a really long flight,”_ Yakov mimics, it’s a surprise to Viktor that his voice can go higher than its usual unflattering gruffness, “you’re not going.”

“I think you’re talking to Yura too often,” Viktor accuses with a laugh. Yakov shoots him daggers, “anyway, I’m going. My boy- my new roommate wants me to meet his family.”

Yakov scowls, “do you hear yourself, boy? Why would you meet a _roommate’s_ family? Why do you _have_ a roommate?! You make six figures a year.”

Viktor’s already packing up his suitcase to end his day, he had his secretary gather everything he’d need until Monday for him earlier. “I’ll see you next week, Yakov-”

“Vitya!” Yakov was already turning red as a tomato.

“-Dasvidanya.”

~*~

The house is quiet when he gets home… _too quiet._ He walks through the house and is welcomed to the most adorable site, Makkachin curled up and snoozing away, with Yuuri wrapped around her. His knees go weak and his hand comes up to clutch at his chest, Viktor can’t help the squeal that escapes his throat and Makkachin cracks an eye open.

When she sees Viktor the other flies open and she’s jumping up before he’s even had a chance to right himself, “hi baby,” he coo’s. “Shh, don’t wake daddy?” _Oh jeez, now I’m talking like we’re a married couple._ He crouches down to pet her, “why don’t we go for a walk?”

At that, she zooms off to the door, tail going wild, she whines and jumps at the door, “alright, alright, I’m coming, you’re too quick, girl.” He takes one more second to look at Yuuri’s sleeping form, he’s a quiet sleeper – greedy about the blankets, though – and as his chest rises and falls Viktor counts the beats of his breath.

It’s a beat he’s already gotten used to and it soothes Viktor after a long day at work, he’s tempted to crawl onto the couch, squeeze right where Makkachin had been cuddled up to Yuuri and nap as well. _No, he would hate that… right?_ Why else would he keep that pillow in the bed when they sleep next to each other?

Viktor shakes his head to clear his thoughts and goes to meet Makkachin at the door. “Let’s not be gone too long, it’s freezing out,” he tells her.

 

Not too long turned out to be pretty long. Viktor and Makkachin didn’t get back until half an hour had pasted and Viktor just really wanted to get out of his suit now and lounge around.

He unclipped Makkachin’s leash and she immediately ran over to her toys to play, in an attempt to warm up her little body, Viktor guessed. Yuuri was no longer on the couch, so Viktor went looking for him.

He didn’t make it far, though. In fact, he only made it to the hallway off the kitchen when he heard _it._

“Nnngh,” it was as if Viktor had been struck, he took a step forward but stopped. “Ah~ Yeeees…”

Yuuri’s voice flitted out from the bedroom, the door open just a crack. Viktor hadn’t heard Yuuri like this since the night they danced, he had forgotten how melodic Yuuri’s pleasure sounded. No, maybe not forgotten, more like hadn’t noticed the first time because his own pleasure was so intense that his awareness wasn’t a hundred percent.

His back hit the wall and his body tenses when another groan escaped the room. Was the open door an invitation? Viktor so very wanted it to be an invitation, but no. Yuuri had said so himself, that he’s not interested in having sex again. At least not until…

“Mmm, _Vitya~_ ” _Oh god._ Viktor bit back a groan and extricated himself from the hallway. He made his way to the kitchen and turned on the tea kettle, maybe the water would boil quickly and the whistle would block out any other noises.

Except Viktor didn’t hear any other noises except for one final high pitched, “ah!” followed by a soft “mmmnn.”

The whistle did finally start to sing but it was too late at that point and Yuuri came out of the room several minutes later. Dressed. And yet, this did nothing to help the situation in Viktor’s pants, Yuuri’s cheeks were stained a wine red and his hair was in disarray, his clothes haphazardly thrown on. Viktor squirmed in his seat.

“Oh, when did… you… uhm get back?”

“J- just now!” Viktor practically yelled, his own cheeks flooding with color. “I’m just… gonna go to the bathroom!” Viktor got up and ran to the bathroom, he passed the bed on his way and only spent half a second contemplating climbing in it.

~*~

“The weathers not too bad in Hasetsu this time of year, yeah it starts to get chilly but it’s no Negative Five degrees,” Yuuri laughs. Viktor sits on the bed folding the clothes Yuuri picks out and throws to him from the closet.

“Oh, well anything in the positive is too warm for me,” Viktor jokes, a small smile on his lips.

“My family runs a hot spring, you’re gonna love it.”

“Now, that _really_ sounds like it’s gonna be too hot for me.”

“No~” Yuuri insists they only need one suitcase, Viktor isn’t so sure but he lets Yuuri take the lead on this trip, after all it’s his home they’re going too. _How did it come to this?_

“We can go ice skating too, my friend and her husband take care of a rink right by my parent’s home.”

When Viktor doesn’t answer Yuuri pops his head out of the closet. Viktor’s stopped folding, just looking down and into the suitcase, “what’s wrong?” He asks.

“N- nothing… I’ve just.” Viktor sighs and puts the shirt now. “I’ve never… met someone’s family before.”

Yuuri’s eyes soften and he comes out to sit on the bed next to Viktor, he takes his hand. He looks so sincere and then he says, “well, we’re definitely more serious than any of your last relationships,” Viktor’s eyes widen, “you wanna meet your in laws, don’t you?” He gives Viktor’s hand a squeeze.

Viktor’s eyes finally return to normal, “uh…” _Right…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 18 and up: from Viktor's POV, Yuuri is masturbating in the bedroom and he can hear Yuuri's moans and the calling of his name, he gets close to the door but doesn't go in nor does he see anything. He excuses himself to take care of himself.
> 
> thanks for reading guys and gals and everyone in between!! <3


	6. Day Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Yuuri, the floors!”_   
>  _Yuuri looks down at his artwork, “uh… yeah not my best work but it’ll do…”_   
>  _“These are the original hard wood floors,” Viktor falls to his knees and wipes a hand across the paint – still wet, his hand comes away black, “will this come off?”_   
>  _Yuuri rushes over, “don’t smear it!” He pushes Viktor’s body away, attempting to drag him up and away but Viktor just falls forward and crawls towards the table._   
>  _“Did you drag the table? Did it scuff the floor?”_   
>  _Yuuri chuckles behind him, looking at the pentagram on the floor and Viktor fussing over the wood floor, “this is not what I thought you’d freak out about.”_

The alarm blared and Viktor’s eyes snapped open unwillingly, he silenced the unwanted noise and kicked his legs over the side of the bed before he could fall back asleep.

“Yuuri,” he grumbles, “gotta get up.” When there’s no response, not even the tell-tale signs of a shifting body in the sheets Viktor reaches back and pats at the bed, nothing. He lazily swings his head to look at the bed behind him and squints through the darkness to find the bed empty, even Makkachin’s gone.

This is only concerning because Yuuri doesn’t wake up before Viktor even on days when he’s up at a reasonable time and not five. _Did he even go to sleep?_ It’s not an unreasonable question.

Groaning, Viktor pushes up from the bed and goes into the bathroom, once he’s showered and has brushed his teeth, he’s more awake, or as Yuuri would put it, he’s more like his “nasty chipper self,” (“ _aren’t you the nasty one, Yuuri?” Viktor had replied with a big smile)._

Viktor only throws on his travel undies and shirt before going on a search for the missing Yuuri and Makkachin. He steps through the dining room threshold toweling his wet hair, head lowered.

“Oh perfect,” and Yuuri sounds way too happy for this awful hour, _definitely didn’t sleep, than._ “I need something from you for the ritual, a hair should do.”

 _Ritual... ?_ Viktor looks up to find an absolute horror has befell his dining room. Yuuri stands in all black, candles lit around the room, the dining room table pushed to the side…

And a large pentagram painted on the hard wood floor.

Their eyes meet and Yuuri smiles, “or anything, fingernail-”

“The ritual?” Viktor’s arms fall limp to his sides, the towel grazing the floor. He’s gaping.

“Yeah, for a safe flight.”

“Yuuri, _the floors!_ ”

Yuuri looks down at his artwork, “uh… yeah not my best work but it’ll do…”

“These are the original hard wood floors,” Viktor falls to his knees and wipes a hand across the paint – still wet, his hand comes away black, “will this come off?”

Yuuri rushes over, “don’t smear it!” He pushes Viktor’s body away, attempting to drag him up and away but Viktor just falls forward and crawls towards the table.

“Did you drag the table? Did it scuff the floor?”

Yuuri chuckles behind him, looking at the pentagram on the floor and Viktor fussing over the wood floor, “this is _not_ what I thought you’d freak out about.”

“If you’re gonna move the furniture on the wood flooring, please ask for help!”

“Okay, okay… I’m sorry,” Yuuri does manage to pull him up this time, “it didn’t scuff, see? It’s okay.”

“Yeah…” He steps back, “okay… it’s early… I’ll go make some coffee- _ow._ ” He exclaims going to rub at his head. Yuuri walks back to his place brandishing a freshly plucked pink hair.

Viktor pulls a piece of his bang forward until he can see the tips, _at least it’s starting to fade._ Yuuri watches him go with a raised eye brow but Viktor doesn’t notice.

He starts the coffee machine and let’s his nerves settles as the water warms up. He looks down in shock to find Makkachin licking at his feet, “oh, it’s you, where have you been, sweet girl?” She’s garbed in a black fabric to match Yuuri’s weird clothes. “Great, now we have a satanic puppy as well.” He picks her up and pets her watching the machine.

As he slowly gets over the anguish of his wood floors through the soothing touch of Makkachin’s soft fur, the whole situation starts to sink in. His eyes grow wide. Afraid to startle Yuuri he gently places Makkachin down and slowly moves from the kitchen back to his bedroom to grab his phone.

He calmly picks it up and calmly opens the phone app, picking on of his most recent calls, he calmly waits through the dial tone and when he receives no answer he calmly waits through the message.

When it beeps, he drops to a crouch putting a hand over his mouth to muffle his words as he practically yells into the phone, “Chris! He’s praying to fucking _Satan!_ He’s ruined by wood floors and he’s trying to summon the devil himself to promise safe passage!” Viktor straightens and clears his throat, saying, “alright, I’ll call you from Japan, dasvidaniya.”

 

Yuuri had left the dining room as some satanic welcome party, but it’s okay, Viktor wouldn’t freak out. In the car he orders a cleaning service to stop by later today to save his flooring – that’s his number one priority at this moment.

 

When they get on the plane Yuuri offers him something to help him sleep and accepts it for later, for now he’ll work on what he promised Yakov.

“You’ll hold my hand, right?” Yuuri asks, knees squeezed together tight, and his shoulders stiff.

“Of course, Yuuri.” He offers his hand palm side up and Yuuri takes it with a smile.

Yuuri doesn’t let go even when they’re at full altitude, he’s starting to nod off in his seat. Viktor gives him one last squeeze before going to pull away but Yuuri’s whimper stops him, “did you mean for the whole flight?”

Yuuri murmurs, “I’m scared of flying.”

“It’s a fifteen-hour flight,” Viktor wants to pull away because one of them has started to sweat and he’s embarrassed it might be his hand.

“You promised,” it came out slurring off his tongue.

He blinks at Yuuri, his expression soft, eyes closed, then he looks at their hands, “oh…” Viktor does feel very tempted to keep a promise for the first time ever.

He looks at his computer, _guess I’ll become a righty today_.

~*~

When they arrive at Hasetsu’s train station, Viktor looks around like a giddy child, despite the fact that Yuuri knows he is a very tired _adult._ Makkachin’s finally free on her leash and is running around their ankles hoping to get farther than three feet only to be tugged back by the rope.

Yuuri knows he’s been to Tokyo but this’ll be a whole different experience. Viktor asks him about everything, ffrom the cleanliness of the floor to the figure skater advertised on every wall. Makkachin sniffs at everything.

“Japan is very cleanly,” and “yes, those are strawberry flavored,” and “no, that’s a rumor,” and “he’s no one special, he’s just from around here.”

Viktor was unable to ask any more questions before Minako arrived to pick them up. “Yuuri~” she sings, spinning on her tows in a pirouette, she spins right into him knowing full well he’d be forced to catch her in a hug.

She wraps her arms around him as well, squeezing. “Leaves for America and never comes back, so very rude.” She says chin on his shoulder.

Circling around them, Viktor asks over her shoulder, “America?”

“That’s where I went to college.”

Minako pulls back and looks at Yuuri with confusion before looking back at Viktor, then back to Yuuri, “who’s _gaijin-san_?” She looks down to find the puppy sniffing at her ankles so she bends down to pet her on the head after letting her sniff her. “And who’s this precious boy.”

Yuuri laughs, “oh! This is Makkachin… or Makka, _she’s_ our new puppy.”

Minako raises an eyebrow looking up at him but not removing her hand from Makkachin’s head, “ _our?_ ” She emphasizes in question.

Yuuri nods sharp, “this is Viktor, Vitya this is Minako, my sensei.”

Minako starts, whipping back around to look at Viktor again, “I knew you were bringing someone home… but a _white_ man, Yuuri?”

Amused, Yuuri watches Minako stand and circle Viktor, inspecting every inch.

He tries to lean back and away from her. _Sometimes all you need is family to scare someone off,_ Yuuri watches on with a bright smile and no intention to interfere.

Then Viktor does something unexpected, he must realize what’s going on and… he goes along with it. He straightens up, “it’s nice to meet you Minako Sensei, Yuuri’s told me about you and I think he is the most beautiful dancer I have ever met, so I can only imagine-”

Yuuri can hardly believe what he’s hearing, the buttery sweet compliments Viktor is throwing out to grow favor, his eyebrows raise at the sight. He sighs, “can we go home?” Viktor stops talking.

Minako purses her lips, a fist at her chin, one last look over Viktor and she finally agrees, “he seems like a good white man. Let’s go.” Then she’s off without another word.

Viktor and Yuuri look at each other, Viktor has an amused smile on his face, lips quirked up on one side, “family, right?” And Yuuri reads it as _look at this situation we’ve gotten ourselves into,_ and he feels giddy when Viktor reaches out to take his hand to follow Minako.

~*~

“You must be Vicchan!” For once Makkachin’s more interested in her surroundings and not the people around her, she runs off into the inn to sniff around.

Viktor welcomes the small woman that bounds into his arms with a surprise that quickly melts to acceptance. He bends at the knees so she doesn’t have to push up onto her tip toes.

“You must be Hiroko, but… what’s a Vicchan?” He asks her, laughing softly.

“What about me?” Yuuri says off from the side and his father responds, “let her meet her new son in law.” _Son in law, huh? Like parents, like son…_ Viktor thinks.

Hiroko is giving him one final squeeze before she steps back, “Yuuri said you love nicknames, Vicchan is what we would call you here, in Japan.” She smiles and it’s so sweet, just like her sons, “he also said,” and she puffs up her chest here, standing straighter, and putting on a face that Viktor recognizes as Yuuri’s grumpy face, saying, “’not _Vitenka_ … only I can call him that.’” Then she falls into giggles.

And her laughter rings like a soft windchime, so similar to Yuuri’s laugh except higher pitched. “Well, I love it,” he promises her, and he does. He was unsure just minutes earlier but now, he is glad to have met her.

She clasps her hands in front of herself and hops on her toes, “you can call me _okaasan_ , Vicchan.”

Viktor’s shoulders relax, and he pulls his lips between his teeth, though they quickly roll out into a smile he can’t control. Hiroko’s already looking away though.

“Yuuri!”

“Oh, now she notices m- oomph,” Yuuri’s smile is gentle has he accepts her into his arms.

“Okaeri.”

His head drops onto her shoulder, “tadaima.” Viktor would laugh at the height difference, but he can only feel his heart melting at the display of mother and son.

“I’m Toshiya,” Yuuri’s father steps up and Viktor turns away, realizing he might be intruding. Viktor bows low in greeting and is surprised when he comes up to be welcomed into another hug, “father in Japanese is _otousan_ ,” he says matter-of-factly, and Viktor realizes he’s just gotten two new parents.

His hug is much shorter than Hiroko’s but no less meaningful, “alright, come inside. We left Mari in charge and she’ll want to say hello, as well.”

Viktor goes to take a step up but a hand on his chest stops him, “shoes off,” it’s Minako.

Yuuri turns to him offering slippers, he slips them on and they’re too small, his heels handing off the edge. _This is fine._

 

Viktor gets to meet Yuuri’s sister next, _Mari_ , he doesn’t receive a hug from her, nor does Yuuri, who just gets a hair ruffle along with a: “hey brat.” Viktor _does_ get a hard look over, not unlike the one he received from Minako.

“Why don’t you soak in the onsen, _tousan_  will get breakfast started.”

“Thank you, nee-san.”

“Should I call you nee-san, too?” Viktor asks cheerfully.

And Yuuri’s suddenly smirking, while Mari is raising an eyebrow, “no,” she says with finality, turning her back to him, as she walks away she waves a flippant hand, adding, “you can call me, _Mari-sama_.”

Yuuri’s snickering now and Viktor gets it, when he yells to her retreating back, “okay, _Mari-sama_ ,” it’s completely without shame.

 

Hiroko comes over with a green pajama set (“ _it’s a jinbei,_ ” _Yuuri will tell him later_ ) and pats Viktor on the shoulder, she turns to Yuuri to say, “ _Onsen_ _ni_ _wa_ _sekkusu_ _wa_ _arimasen_.”

“Ohmygod, _kaasan_.”

Viktor looks at him confused but Minako shouts from a table where she’s already nursing some sake before he can ask what Hiroko had said, “can’t be too careful Yuuri, white men do whatever they want!”

“It’s only just after nine in the morning, sensei!”

“It’s never too early to enjoy a drink,” she winks, “ _matawa_ _yoi_ _bangu_.”

Yuuri’s more red than Viktor’s ever seen a person become. “Let’s go!” Yuuri grabs Viktor’s wrist and pulls him down the hall quickly.

“What’d they say?”

“Nothing!” Yuuri says too quickly.

When they get into the public shower Yuuri’s back to his normal color. He goes about setting up an area for them, “so there are a couple rules in here… we’ll wash thoroughly first, Makka can’t come in with us, no pictures, and uh…” his blush is back in full force, mumbling, “obviously, no sex.

”Viktor barely catches that but then he remembers Minako’s words, _bangu… sex… oh._ Viktor’s laughing, “okay, I can adhere to those simple rules.”

 

Seeing Yuuri naked again is like a breath of fresh air… one he’s unable to gulp down, because he’s still not allowed to touch. Viktor watches him drop the towel as he slips into the water, the fine lines of his back are tantalizing, and Viktor is _so_ tempted to press his lips to it, to lick a stripe up between those shoulder blades and-

“Vitya, are you getting in?” Viktor snaps out of his thoughts as Yuuri turns back to face him, already fully immerged in the water.

He steps forward to climb in as well, “y- yes, definitely.”

~*~

 _Uh oh,_ Yuuri finds himself really enjoying watching his family pamper Viktor, the smile that blooms on the other man’s face when _kaasan_  calls him Vicchan is mesmerizing. Yuuri finds himself forgetting the whole reason he brought Viktor here.

“ _Vkusno!_ Yuuri, I can’t believe you grew up eating what god’s eat!” He exclaims when _kaasan_  makes them Katsudon for lunch.

She preens at the edge of the _kotatsu_ , clutching the tray in front of her, “oh, _Vicchan_ , you big flatterer!”

“This food flatters itself,” he promises, digging back in. Yuuri watches on fondly, he had enthusiastically taken several bites as well, after all it’s been several years since he’s had _kaasan’_ s cooking. But once his belly is warmed by the food, he takes the moment to look over at Viktor and can’t find himself able to look away.

Yuuri subconsciously reaches up to swipe a piece of rice off Viktor’s cheek, Viktor’s eyes follow Yuuri’s thumb as he brings it to his own lips for a taste. It tastes like egg and Viktor visibly gulps.

“Oh my!” Both men snap to attention and turn to Hiroko, Yuuri flushes, “I’ll leave you too alone! But Yuuri, you should show Viktor around! I’m sure Yuuko- _chan_ would love to see you.

”She walks away and Viktor and Yuuri turn back to look at each other, bursting out into giggles. “Ohmygod, so embarrassing,” Yuuri says through his laughter.

 

They finish lunch and dress in warm gear, even though the weather isn’t as bad as St. Petersburg by a long shot. On the walk up to Ice Castle Viktor asks, “is this Yuuko- _chan_ an ex-lover?”

“ _What?_ Oh my god, _no!”_ He looks around as if he’s worried someone might have overheard.

“Well, I know I’m not your first, you were way too good-” Yuuri’s hand is covering his mouth before any more words can escape. They come to a standstill on the bridge where a lone fisherman sits only a few feet from them.

“Ohayōgozaimasu, boys!”

Viktor peels Yuuri’s fingers away from his mouth – but doesn’t let go of his hand – and replies, “ohayōgozaimasu!” With a flamboyant wave.

They make their way across the bridge to finish their journey, Yuuri finally answers Viktor’s half-asked question, “I liked Yuuko when I was younger, but I think it was more like admiration… she introduced me to ice skating, she fought off bullies for me, she would hold my hand and walk me home from school… but. I look back, and I don’t think it was real infatuation because I’ve never liked a girl again.”

“Hmm…” Yuuri peaked at Viktor from the corner of his eye, he looked like he was thinking hard about what to say, finally he says, “I don’t think love has to be so confusing. You could have very much loved Yuuko and under circumstances become something more… though maybe not… what I mean is. Uhm… like.” And Yuuri’s never seen Viktor at such a loss for words, “I think you can still be a gay man even though you have loved a woman?”

A pink paints the bridge of his nose when Yuuri looks at him, the steps haven’t faltered this time. “Y’know… if that’s what you were worried about,” he adds.

“Oh… well thank you Vitya.” Yuuri says softly, eyes falling back to the concrete at his feet.

They spent the rest of the short walk in silence, Viktor still held onto his hand.

~*~

“Two pairs of skates?”

“Shoe size?”

“That’ll be 3500 yen.”

Viktor’s head whipped between the three identical girls talking to them, he didn’t know who to answer first, he looked to Yuuri hoping he would take charge.

He smiled fondly at them, “I guess it’s my fault for being gone so long, you girls don’t even remember me.”

Their heads tilted to the left in sync and they looked at him in confusion.

“Yuuri- _kun!”_ Came an exclamation from even further in the back, a woman rounded the corner and ran to the counter, hands slamming onto it, only pushing one of the little girls a bit. “I can’t believe it’s really _you!_ Girls!” She looks down at them chastising, “you don’t remember your Uncle Yuuri?”

“Ooh!”

“Hi Uncle Yuuri!”

“You’ve gotten so old!”

He laughs, “so have you.”

Yuuko continues, “are you here to skate!? When was the last time you did?” Her eyes finally catch Viktor, she straightens, “oh I’m so sorry, sir, I can help you first.”

“pft,” Yuuri’s unable to hold back a laugh.

“No, uh, I’m… with Yuuri.”

“What? No way!” She looks between them quickly, “wow.”

“Hey!” Yuuri complains, “I’m capable of bringing home a good-looking man!”

Viktor preens, a smile growing on his face as he watches the two go back and forth.

 

“You never told me you could skate!” Yuuri’s bent at the hip inspecting Viktor’s skates as if he has tied on some magical skates instead of the ones Yuuko had handed the two of them just a few moments ago.

“I’m Russian, _kroshka_ ,” and maybe Viktor added that last bit to prove his point, but he also realizes belatedly he’s never called Yuuri a pet name before and the look of surprise on the other man’s face is absolutely worth the wait. Yuuri’s cheeks blossom a beautiful pink, he bites at his bottom lip and Viktor thinks it’s probably to hold back a pleased smile.

He grabs for Yuuri’s hands but is just as surprised to find Yuuri has some experience as well, skating backwards smoothly. “Oh? Dancing, figuring skating, what can’t Katsuki Yuuri do?” Viktor asks slyly.

Yuuri giggles, making circles around Viktor until he reaches out to grabs at Yuuri, they set off in a chase around the boarder of the rink, “plenty!” he yells over his shoulder, “practically everything else.”

When Viktor catches him its by his hips and Yuuri continues to skate with Viktor attached until he spins around and catches Viktor’s hands in his own. They press together and Yuuri is laughing that bell like laugh and Viktor is _falling_. But he’s not falling physically just emotionally. And _where has this Yuuri been all week!?_ He mentally complains to himself.

Evidentially they’re both not experienced enough on skates to actually skate as pairs, ending up on their butts. Yuuri crawls over to him to help him up but they just fall back down again because they’re laughing too hard.

~*~

“Will we go skating again?” Viktor asks, they’ve stopped in front of the inn. Viktor’s turned to him in an attempt to freeze time for just a second and Yuuri lets him.

They face each other and Yuuri’s tempted to squeeze his cheeks together he’s so cute. Then he remembers they’re dating and that he’s allowed to kiss Viktor. They haven’t kissed since that first night together and Yuuri chastises himself, _why aren’t you taking advantage of your time with this beautiful man!?_

But Viktor hasn’t either and Yuuri thinks it must be the no sex thing… which means Viktor’s just leaving the ball in Yuuri’s court, letting him decide how things play out. And that… is the most beautiful thing a partner’s ever done for him.

Viktor really has been so accommodating, he hasn’t gotten mad at _any_ of the things Yuuri’s so deliberately set out to bother him with. Yuuri’s done for. Viktor’s too good for him. And yet, he’s still been unable to drive him off.

Yuuri steps closer to Viktor, taking his cheek in hand and slips onto his tip toes. He presses his lips to Viktor’s, it’s just a soft kiss but Yuuri’s missed the taste of Viktor, even without the alcohol on his breath it’s still sweet. He finds himself smiling into the kiss and when he pulls back, Viktor asks him, “what was that for?”

Yuuri blushes, “I just wanted to… am I not allowed?”

Viktor leans down to kiss him again, “you can have whatever you want from me.”

Yuuri lets out a huff of disbelief, no one’s ever given him so much for so little in return.

It’s like Viktor’s read his mind because he says, “you gave me so much, sharing your family with me.” There’s something so vulnerable about Viktor’s words and Yuuri’s absorbs all the little facts that present themselves from Viktor’s words.

It’s not much longer before they push away from each other and force themselves to go inside, they can only pretend to live in their own world for so long.

 

When they step inside and slip into house slippers they move to the dining room to eat some warm food to heat themselves up.

“Vitya! Miliy moy, you never call, you never write, and you definitely don’t visit!” A woman with starlight hair just like Viktor’s bounds up to him and jumps into his arms, a stern looking woman following close behind.

“ _Matywka_?! What?” Viktor wraps his arms around her, she’s so much smaller than him that he could easily do it twice.

“That’s how you greet your lovely parents?” She nuzzles into his chest, “we’ve missed you.”

At the declaration of _parents_ Viktor looks up and into the stern woman’s eyes. He pulls away from her and says “ _мама_.” It’s a much less heartfelt welcome than his other mother received.

Yuuri bit into his cheek in worry, this is exactly the reaction he had wanted… so why does he feel so sick?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think it's actually a great idea to fly your several old month puppy on a plane - especially a 15 hour flight but for the sake of the story... i wanted Makka to come!!! sue me!
> 
>  _Translations_  
>  _gaijin-san_ = foreigner  
>  _onsen ni wa sekkusu wa arimasen_ = No sex in the onsen  
>  _matawa yoi bangu_ = or a good bang  
>  _okaasan/otousan_ = (formal) mother/father  
>  _Kaasan/tousan_ = mother/father  
>  _kroshka_ = little crumb (like are you kidding me?! so cute)  
>  _miliy moy_ = my sweet  
>  _matywka/mama_ = mother 
> 
> (not a japanese/russian speaker - if these are wrong, feel free to correct!)


	7. Day Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Viktor smiles._  
>  _A crinkle forms between Yuuri’s brows and he steps forward, he licks his lips and puts a finger to Viktor’s lips, swiping across the bottom one, “don’t do that.”_  
>  _Viktor feels his artificial smile crumpling at the edges, “what do you mean?” He can’t hold it though, it falls._  
>  _“You don’t have to pretend with me… unless…”_  
>  _Yuuri doesn’t continue and Viktor can’t even finish what he had originally set out to say, he slumps onto the bed and lets his face fall into his hands._ It’s not like he could have known, he was trying to do a nice thing, _Viktor argues with himself trying to give Yuuri the benefit of the doubt._  
>  _“I guess we don’t know each other at all…” he ends up saying._

Yuuri’s bed is at least half the size of Viktor’s is at home, but he hadn’t even flinched when Yuuri presented it to him saying, “we’ll be in here.”

After everything that happened last night, Yuuri couldn’t muster up the courage to put the pillow between them like at home – not like it mattered because as soon as they had laid down Viktor curled into his side of the bed his back to Yuuri. Now in the morning light Yuuri stares at Viktor’s back, this is the first time Viktor’s worn a shirt in bed, _he must be really upset with me._

Yuuri shut his eyes tight, trying to pretend the world around him didn’t exist, _I’m so stupid._

Yuuri had hardly slept, despite his lethargy, full of worry. Yuuri’s never woken up with Viktor still in the bed, that either means it really _is_ early or Viktor doesn’t want to face his _mama_.

~*~

_“Mama,” the smaller woman steps aside to make room for Viktor and his mama’s face off, she still has a bright smile on her face, her flowered dress swishes side to side and she sways her hips. Either she’s completely obtuse or she likes to pretend there’s nothing wrong, when there very clearly is._

_Viktor’s eyes have gone dull though, that beautiful bright blue he usually brandishes gone, and Yuuri feels a loss for it. “It’s good to see you as well,” he says civilly, a plastic smile on his face, not unlike the one Yuuri’s seen Viktor use when he is actually quite displeased with a person._

_“Yes, well, that’s surprising.” The stern woman says, her hands are folded behind her back and she does not make any move to get closer to Viktor, the space between them an accurate visual for what their emotional relationship must be like._

_Viktor’s back straightens, and he scoffs, “that’s not really a ‘hello.’”_

_His matywka reaches over to grab Viktor’s hand, giving it a squeeze, Yuuri felt relieved that someone stepped in to try to push the tension away, he didn’t think he would be strong enough. She looks at Yuuri, “you must be the darling who invited us!” Viktor’s eyes snap to Yuuri’s, a look of betrayal before he’s looking at his mama again._

_Matywka steps between Viktor and his mama and pulls Yuuri in for a hug, effectively blocking the two from going further at each other’s throats._

_“Oh, yes! Uhm… thank you for coming.” Yuuri chances a glance at Viktor again but the man pays him no mind, completely looking over Yuuri’s head._

_Matywka gives him room to step back, so he continues, “I wanted to get to know my Vitya’s family!” He tries to sound cheerful, even though his guts feel like they’re eating him from the inside out._

_“This relationship sure seems to be moving quickly,” mama quips in a bored voice, her arms are crossed now._

_“Oh shush,” matywka slaps at mama’s arms, “you proposed after two months.”_

_Yuuri had started to think Viktor got all his quirkiness from his matywka, but with that comment it sounds like he has a bit of mama in him too… they’re both pretty stubborn as well, it seems._

_“I’m Natalia Zakharovna,” she smiles, her eyes closing tight, reaching up to squeeze at Yuuri’s shoulder, “call me matywka. And this is my ворчун of a wife –”_

_“Elizabet Alexandrovna Nikiforova.”_

_“But you can call her mama.”_

_“Hmph,” the stern woman pouts and turns her head to the side, in an act that says, ‘I didn’t agree to this.’_

_Yuuri chuckles, he knows the situation’s not in a good place right now, but Viktor and Elizabet are so similar._

_“So- sorry we were absent on your arrival, did you have a chance to meet my parents?”_

_Viktor cuts off whatever answer Yuuri’s about to get with a, “well, it’s good to see_ you _, matywka. I’m sure you’re both exhausted from the long journey, I know the Katsuki’s will take good care of you, goodnight.”_

~*~

Viktor had just stormed off after that, down the hall, Yuuri had apologized and rushed off after him because Viktor hadn’t known which room they were staying in.

He presses the tip of his finger between Viktor’s shoulder blades, the thin shirt soft but barely there, he may as well be touching Viktor’s bare back. Yuuri presses down into the hard muscle and moves his finger down the crease of Viktor’s back.

Viktor’s body shivers at the touch, probably involuntarily, _so he’s awake, then._ When Viktor doesn’t say anything, Yuuri knows he wants to pretend to be asleep for a little longer.

When Yuuri’s finger gets to the hem of his shirt, he pushes it up just enough to trace a line from dimple to dimple, enough to ask permission to go further, giving Viktor a chance to shift away or turn and slap Yuuri’s hand away.

He doesn’t.

So, Yuuri pushes his hand up and under the shirt, Viktor’s skin is soft, softer than the shirt. Yuuri lets his fingers dance across his back like his _kaasan_ used to do for him when he wasn’t feeling too good.

This is the most intimate they’ve been, at least since that first time, yet it still seems much more personal than sex had.

Viktor doesn’t move while Yuuri makes his ministrations. He starts tracing words without realizing it, small things like _onsen, Makka, katsudon,_ simple things that he always thinks about subconsciously. Once he realizes what he’s doing his words become more deliberate, Viktor wouldn’t know he’s doing it anyway.

His finger forms a big V, he writes out _Vitya._ Then he traces the words, _I think I’m falling for you._ The words leaking out of him easily, like a huge breath.

Suddenly Viktor’s turning over to face Yuuri, and the tail of the U he finishes with stretches long across Viktor’s back. Then Yuuri’s staring into blue eyes, finally bright again, despite the sleepiness in them. Face to face Yuuri pulls his hand back, cradling it to his chest.

~*~

 _Vitya, I think I’m falling for you…_ Maybe Yuuri meant to keep going… - _falling for your borsch._ Maybe Viktor was overthinking it, Yuuri couldn’t have meant those words.

But now it was too late, they lay facing each other, blue eyes to brown, he could only imagine how disappointed Yuuri was in him for his blow up last night. He hadn’t even been able to get out of bed this morning to face _mama_ … to face _matywka._

~*~

_“We’ll be in here,” Yuuri opens the door to a cramped little space, a tiny bed shoved in the corner, Viktor doesn’t even have the strength to care about the size of the room nor the bed. In fact, if he had been in better spirits he probably would’ve been thrilled about the small bed, no room for Yuuri to run away._

_Viktor walks in quietly, his thoughts running away from him, he doesn’t miss Yuuri’s worried looks. He definitely doesn’t miss how Yuuri’s worried look isn’t that of a man in trouble but that of a man who is genuinely concerned, that at least softens Viktor’s anger._

_He gets to the edge of the bed, looking down at it, as if inspecting it, then he whirls on Yuuri, “Yuuri-” The smaller man flinches back a step and Viktor knows he sounds too agitated, he forces his anger down with a sigh and smiles._

_A crinkle forms between Yuuri’s brows and he steps forward, he licks his lips and puts a finger to Viktor’s lips, swiping across the bottom one, “don’t do that.”_

_Viktor feels his artificial smile crumpling at the edges, “what do you mean?” He can’t hold it though, it falls._

_“You don’t have to pretend with me… unless…”_

_Yuuri doesn’t continue and Viktor can’t even finish what he had originally set out to say, he slumps onto the bed and lets his face fall into his hands._ It’s not like he could have known, he was trying to do a nice thing, _Viktor argues with himself trying to give Yuuri the benefit of the doubt._

_“I guess we don’t know each other at all…” he ends up saying._

~*~

Yuuri hadn’t answered him when he had said that, when Viktor looked up Yuuri’s eyes were wide, a softness resided there, as if he had been struck.

Now, though, as Viktor looks into Yuuri’s eyes this morning Yuuri doesn’t look discouraged. Viktor is embarrassed though, of his behavior, or his attitude.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you last night,” Viktor whispers, but he may as well be talking normally in the quiet of the room.

Yuuri looks confused for a moment then he’s smiling, but it’s not that beautiful, heart wrenching smile Viktor loves to sink into, this one is full of sympathy.

“Thank you, Vitya, but I hardly felt _snapped_ at.”

“Still…” Viktor’s taken aback when Yuuri boops his nose, he puckers his lips and scrunches his eyebrows in an attempt to look at the tip of his nose – not a hard feat when his dominate feature is his nose.

“What do you want to do today?” He asks, cutting off any more doubts Viktor possesses.

“Oh… uhm, I don’t know.”

“Why don’t we start with breakfast.”

Viktor nods, accepting his fate.

 

When they head down, teeth brushed and slippers pulled on, _matywka, mama,_ Hiroko _,_ and Mari are sitting around the table. Toshiya quickly brings them each miso, rice, and fish, joining them as well. Everyone has already eaten, choosing to sit around to talk amongst themselves.

“Vicchan, why don’t you take your mama’s around, I’m sure they’d love to see _Nanatsugama_ or the shrines- Ooh! Yuuri, did you show Vicchan the castle?”

“The castle?”

“Mmph,” was Yuuri’s response already scarfing down his breakfast, cheeks full like a chipmunk. Viktor grabbed his stomach and pinched it between his fingers with a smirk, Yuuri shot him a petulant look, “the ninja castle,” he says when he swallows his mouthful, swatting Viktor’s hand away.

“Ninjas?! _Wow!_ ”

“Oh! I wanna see ninjas,” _matywka’s_ accent was thicker then Viktor’s and she struggled to say the word ‘ninjas.’ He really had missed her.

“Perfect!” Hiroko clasps her hands together with a bright smile puffing up her chubby cheeks, “you’ll take them after breakfast!”

~*~

Yuuri guides them around, he shows them things he had already shown Viktor yesterday. His _matywka_ acts thoroughly impressed and maybe she is, she’s always liked traveling and learning of new places. _Mama_ travels for work, she’s danced in almost a hundred countries, and could care less. Or it seems, at least.

Viktor’s phone chimes and he pulls it out to look at it.

“Really, Vitya, you have to look at your phone now?” _Mama_ complains.

He thinks about ignoring her, then changes his mind, he can be civilized, “this will only take a minute, _mama_.”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/45319858825/in/dateposted-public/)

He dutifully puts his phone away, making a show of it. _Mama_ just huffs, his sweet _matywka_ swings over to his side and pulls him into a side hug, “ _spassibo_ , _Vicchan!”_

 _“Vicchan?!”_ Him and his _mama_ bluster at the same time.

“Oh!” _Matywka_ claps her hands together, “I just thought I’d try it, it’s so cute!”

Yuuri snickers off to the side.

“ _Yuuri_ ,” Viktor whines, “are we there _yet~?”_

“Just about… see it up there?” He points to a large building up on the hill. He nods his head yes, _matywka_ in sync next to him, _“_ that’s it. The ninja castle.”

“Ninjas!” _Matywka_ exclaims, and they take off running.

“Wa- wait!” Yuuri yells after them.

“ _Blyad,_ ” _mama_ says behind them.

~*~

Viktor and Natalia had been disappointed to learn that there wasn’t actually ninja’s residing in the castle, but they still got some good pictures out of it. No matter what, though, nothing seemed to appease Elizabet, she just looked bored the whole time. Viktor kept side-eyeing her and Yuuri kept side-eyeing _him_ to make sure a fight didn’t break out.

When they got home Yuuri finally chanced a look at his phone, it had been chiming but he had refused to pull it out lest he get on Elizabet’s bad side. He’s not completely sure he’s not already on it.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/45320038975/in/dateposted-public/)

“Ugh,” he groans, wiping a hand down his face. When he clicks on it he exclaims, “three hundred thousand views?!”

“What’s that?” Viktor asks from his side, trying to peak at his phone. Yuuri quickly shoves it in his pocket, he’ll answer Yuuko and Phichit and whomever else texted him, later.

“N- nothing! It’s nothing… just a video.”

Viktor looked thoughtful at that, rubbing at his chin, then he just shrugged it off. “Can we go relax in the onsen… I just want to be away from- alone with you for a little bit.”

Yuuri took Viktor’s hand and smiled, “actually, I have something I’d like to show you.”

“Oh?” Viktor smirked, “and what’s that?”

Yuuri didn’t answer, instead pulling Viktor along, and down the hallway. The smile slipped from Viktor’s face and instead was replaced with curiosity.

He led them down past the bedrooms and into the room where he kept his piano. He hasn’t seen it in years, didn’t even look at it for several years before he left for school.

As they made their way to the bench, Viktor asked, “what’s that?” Yuuri turned to see where he was gesturing too, he released Viktor’s hand and his shoulders slumped.

“That’s Vicchan,” he let out a heavy sigh.

”Oh, like at my house?”

”Yeah.” He pulled Viktor over and down onto the bench and turned in to face the keys, Viktor followed suit, their knees pressed together. Yuuri tried a couple of keys, _out of tune_.

“I got Vicchan when I was a boy and even though I was probably too young to know what responsibility was I promised to take care of him… _kaasan_ was very encouraging and ended up helping out quite a lot though.”

Viktor laughed at this, he was probably picturing chubby Yuuri being pulled over in the snow by a rowdy puppy, and he wouldn’t be far off.

He continues, “he got hit by a car right before I moved out…”

“Oh…” Viktor turns to look at Yuuri, “I’m sorry, Yuuri.” He rests a hand over Yuuri’s on the keys.

“ _Arigato_ ,” he whispers. He takes a deep breath and starts playing the keys to one of the songs he remembers, “but that’s not why I brought you in here.”

“True,” Viktor smiles down at the keys, he lays his hands across the white but doesn’t press down. “I didn’t know you could play.”

“Yeah… just a couple things. I think I’ve forgotten most stuff. I… I was gonna go to Julliard.”

“Those are big dreams,” he says it, but it’s not condescending like most adults had sounded when he was growing up, instead it was warm, as if the dreams are still alive.

“For piano,” Yuuri clarifies.

“I figured,” Viktor gestured down.

“Well… I just mean, cause you know I danced as well, I don’t want to confuse-”

Viktor hums in agreement, “do you sing?”

Yuuri jerks back, “n- never.”

Viktor raises an eyebrow, “why not?”

“Isn’t singing a bit personal?”

“I’d say all music… _all_ _art_ is personal. Isn’t that the point? Don’t you think your dancing is personal… your piano playing?”

Yuuri had to think about that for a minute, “maybe that’s why I never ended up going…”

“Will you play me a song?”

“If you’ll… do something for me?”

Viktor cocked his head to the side, “and what’s that?”

Yuuri bit into his bottom lip and steeled himself, “what happened with your _mama?_ ”

Viktor’s expression remained neutral, but his back straightened and he pulled away from Yuuri a bit.

“Right…”

Yuuri looked away from Viktor and back down at the keys, hoping to give him some privacy with his thoughts, allowing him to say _no_ if he wanted to. Needed to.

His fingers went to the keys, thumb on C, forefinger on G… but Viktor stopped him again, by putting his hand over Yuuri’s.

“I never _came out_ to my parents… I didn’t think I’d have to. I mean… obviously, look at them. One day I brought home a boy…” his words came to a stop and so this time Yuuri met him in the middle, turning his hand over palm up, to take Viktor’s hand in his, their fingers interlock and Yuuri squeezes reassurance.

Viktor lets out a soft sigh, “ _matywka_ was encouraging of course, but _mama_ was cold.” Yuuri couldn’t help thinking that sounds exactly like the _intimidating parent_ trope American’s liked to use in teen romance movies. “She was accepting of Kolya but…” he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, one day, she actually _kicked_ him out of the house! I was so embarrassed, Kolya never called me again. I mean we were… not doing so well before that… but…

“I don’t know. I was so angry with her, I called her names, claimed she only liked women and that she didn’t love me.” His nose scrunched, “I doubt that’s true. Nothing was the same after that, I moved out after high school and haven’t spoken to _mama_ since.”

Yuuri softly gasped, “that’s almost ten years, Vitya…”

“I called _matywka…_ and I visited when I knew _mama_ was out of country for work. You’re right though… I only ended up seeing her three or four times.” Viktor pulled Yuuri’s hand into his lap and plucked his fingers free with his free hand, he played with Yuuri’s hand in his lap.

Yuuri watched his face, his breathing even and his eyes scrunched as if trying to hold something back. “I… I had dreams too.”

Yuuri softened, “what are you dreams Vitya?”

Viktor sniffled, unable to keep his tears at bay, one slid down his cheek, “I was gonna ice skate. I was good too, _hah._ ”

“I’m sure you were, if how you skated yesterday is anything to go by.”

Viktor looks up at him with a lopsided grin, “I was definitely better than that,” his chest puffs up, “I was junior champion several years in a row, and I won gold at my first senior grand prix event.”

“Wow!” Yuuri said, completely impressed.

“At sixteen.” Yuuri’s eyebrows rise high, he pulls his phone from his pocket. “What are you doing?”

“I’m gonna look up a video.”

Viktor laughs but pushes his phone down, “later, _solnyshko._ It’s your turn now.”

Yuuri put his phone away and asks, “but… why didn’t you continue to skate after that.”

“I did…” Viktor’s smile falters, “once you look me up, I’m sure the first big headline will be, _Reigning Champion Viktor Nikiforov dethroned swiftly and easily by Yuzuru Hanyu Who Only Took a Year off Due to Injury.”_

"Go Japan!” He throws his arms up in a mock cheer.

“Hey!” Viktor swats at his arms, “you’re supposed to be on my side,” his melancholy slipping into laughter.

“I am, I am,” Yuuri laughs too, “I bet you could've beaten him if you stayed with it.”

“Once I moved out of my home in St. Petersburg I didn’t have enough money to keep training. I suppose I’ll never know.”

Yuuri turned away from Viktor and put his hands back on the keys, he started to play a soft beat, he speaks over the music, “I think I was very lonely in high school and college. I think I was still lonely… until I met you.”

He heard Viktor gasp next to him, but he didn’t look away from where his fingers moved across the keys, the music flowed into a [melody](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYrlrMtAB3M) he used to practice for hours, he began to hum along to the piano. Still too afraid to sing, even for Viktor… maybe especially for Viktor, but he let the piano share his feelings.

When Yuuri finished his song he turned his hips to face Viktor full on but Viktor was already moving in, he took Yuuri’s face in his palms and kissed him full on the lips. It was a hard kiss but it wasn’t demanding, and Yuuri leaned into Viktor, his body comforting and warm.

They pulled apart and Viktor whispered, “I was lonely before, too. Now, though? I’m definitely not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations:  
>  _ворчун_ = sourpuss  
>  _spassibo/arigato_ = thank you
> 
> thanks for reading! i've finally got the ending planned! i'm so excited <3 stay tuned!


	8. Day Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> are we gonna make this a bonding chapter... hell yeah.  
> Mari and Viktor are gonna bond!  
> Yuuri and _Matywka_ are gonna bond!  
>  And a surprise! woo hoo!

Viktor stepped out onto the back porch, a plume of smoke swirled from below and into his face. He looked down to find Mari cross legged on a pillow, the pipe between her teeth. A bunch of birds made out of paper litter the planks around her.

"Hiding from someone?" she asks without looking away from the paper she folds gently between fingers, amusement obvious in her voice. It's funny, Viktor couldn't imagine her being so gentle with anything, but he doesn't think that that's necessarily a bad thing, she holds herself straight and strong and it's nice to see her being soft for once.

Viktor knows he hasn't been subtle with his  _mama,_  so he knows he doesn't have to answer Mari here, instead he asks his own question, "what are you making?"

She pauses her folding only to reach down and pluck a completed bird up to hand it to Viktor. He accepts it with an open palm, careful not to crush it. She doesn't give him an actual answer, Viktor starts to wonder if they're playing some game with open ended answers.

She  _does_ say, "my  _obaachan_  moved down here after the war to marry, her family sent her away to have one less mouth to feed - though that was normal back than."

When she goes quiet Viktor doesn't know what to say, he doesn't even know what that has to do with the paper birds, he  _is_  happy, though, to find out a new piece of information about Yuuri, about his family. He sits next to Mari on the cold porch.

She finishes her bird and offers Viktor a sheet of paper, "would you like to try?"

"Mm..." he accepts it and follows the movements of her hands as she starts anew.

" _Orizuru,_ " she says. "Paper cranes."

Viktor knows that she's finally answering his question and he hums.

"She had an older neighbor," Mari continues, "who would fold  _orizuru_ and she told  _obaachan_  of an old legend, if you fold a thousand cranes you will have a wish granted by the  _Kami's_. The old woman had started folding these as a means to get through the war,  _obaachan_  decided to fold  _orizuru_ as a way to get through the end of the war.

"It's not that  _obaachan_  was treated poorly, but she didn't love her husband and his family wasn't very welcoming of her." Mari presents her finished crane to Viktor and picks up a new piece of paper.

Viktor had gotten lost in her demonstration and patiently waited for her to get to where he was, so he could finish folding his.

"She never got to a thousand. I started to help her when I was younger... when she passed away I just never stopped." She freezes her movements, looking off towards the horizon, perhaps trying to catch up with her thoughts. She finally says - looking back at her crane, "I feel bad... I told Yuuri he couldn't help us. At the time, I liked having  _obaachan_  to myself, but looking back... it probably could've helped with his anxiety. It's very... soothing."

"Ah  _ha!_ " Viktor held up his distressed looking crane, finished, though with one wing folded the wrong way.

Mari laughs in her bored way, "looks good." She gives him another piece of paper, he has to watch her from the beginning again.

"Yuuri's anxiety?" He asks, "is it worse than most peoples?"

"Mhm..." She looks at Viktor skeptically, then she nods as if deciding she can tell him this, "where most people get anxious, Yuuri pretty much _stays_ anxious. I'm sure you've noticed."

She tilts her chin towards him, he notices now in the light that she looks more like their father, whereas Yuuri looks most like their mother. Mari has none of the bright brown eyes nor the reassuring smiles.

"He acted... very confident. That is until we got here," Viktor puts a finger to his lips looking over the flower bed, "there is still a lot I have yet to see of Yuuri. I'm excited to learn more about him."

Viktor puts his second finished crane down and stands up, "this was fun," he says.

Mari looks up at him and chuckles, "yeah, a blast."

He opens the door to go back inside, but pops his head out the door one more time to ask, "how many are you at?"

She hums, "eight hundred ninety three."

~*~

Yuuri spotted Viktor heading out the back door to the porch, Yuuri rationed that he was probably looking for some space, so he went the opposite way to the front. He had plans with Yuuko and he could just send Viktor a text letting him know that he slipped out.

The wind was quiet, thankfully, the air was already frigid enough.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/44512578440/in/dateposted-public/)

Viktor was always so generous with the emoticons and Yuuri couldn’t help it, it made him smile. Yuuri put his phone away and skipped into a light jog, excited to get to Yuuko, excited to get home, excited to finally have someone to go home to.

 

Yuuri and Yuuko met at a small little spot by the rink, they opened at eleven-thirty for lunch but would make Yuuko breakfast if she requested it. Yuuri assumes they’d do this for anyone but had a soft spot for Yuuko especially because her families owned that rink her whole life and the family who owns the restaurant watched her grow up.

That’s why Yuuri got to enjoy a delicious breakfast at practically noon. He really was spoiled in America with the concept of Brunch, the American’s did one thing right.

“So,” Yuuko prompts, sipping at her tea.

“So…”

“Viktor, huh? I really thought you were gonna marry that figure skater you were obsessed with.” Images of a blonde man gliding across the ice flashes through Yuuri’s mind, he grows red at her words.

“Yuuko!” He scolds, “that- no, I’m-” He crosses his arms in an attempt to gain control of the situation, he huffs, “that would be impossible, I’d never be good enough to meet him. And besides, Viktor and I aren’t anywhere close to marriage.”

“You live together.”

“Wha- Who told you that?”

“Phichit.”

“How do you talk to Phichit? _Why_ do you talk to Phichit? How do you two know each other?” Yuuri shook his head, his two very friendly and very nosy friends _would_ talk.

“We started talking over one of your rare Instagram posts last year and started messaging after that. You would have noticed our conversation if you read your notifications.” Yuuri only offered her an eye roll, she continued, “we talk about your love life – or lack of until last week – your work, and other things,” she ticked off on her fingers.

“How did I get so lucky, with friends like you?” He said exasperated.

She flashed her best smile. “Now,” she chirped, “tell me all about Viktor.”

Yuuri chewed his lip in contemplation, he looked away from Yuuko, a blush forming on his cheeks, “he’s gorgeous, obviously.”

Yuuko giggles, “obviously.”

Now he meets her eyes, she wears a smile and as usual, it's completely nonjudgmental. “Viktor’s… so forgiving, he’s kind and open, he meets me halfway, even… when I push him away.”

Yuuko smiles gently, a smile that says _I know your struggles,_ because she does. Yuuko was always there for him when he was younger battling his anxiety and the stressors of his otherwise average life. He doesn’t correct her though, when he says _push him away_ Yuuri meant he was actively trying to push Viktor away for a bet, but that doesn’t need to be said.

“It sounds like he’s really good for you Yuuri, sounds like I don’t have to give him the shovel talk,” she smirks, “ _and_ he’s really hot!”

“Yuuko! …Yeah, he’s _really_ hot.”

They both giggle. Spending the rest of their breakfast talking about Viktor, and Takashi, and Hasetsu while he was gone. He really missed Yuuko.

~*~

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/45785033104/in/dateposted-public/)

"Do you ever put that thing away?"

Viktor looked up from his phone to see his disapproving _mama_ , he put his phone in his pocket, not even getting a chance to read the article, only opening it to see another drama filled article about him, now excitingly featuring Yuuri.

 _Jasmine Qadiri sure loves to write about me,_ he thinks.

“ _Mama_ ,” he says sickly sweet, a smile curling onto his face, “you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Hmph, I just hope you’re not ignoring that lovely boy by using your phone all the time.”

“ _Ha!?_ ” Great, now Viktor’s starting to sound like Yuri Plisetsky. “Don’t tell me you actually care about Yuuri?” Though he really wants her to.

“He reminds me of your _matywka,_ he should be treated right.”

“Ah, so as long as he reminds you of a woman, he’s fine.” Viktor scoffs and goes to walk off. His _mama_ reaches towards him and grabs his arm, he startles and looks back at her, she’s never grabbed him before, she’s never reached for him nor made herself so open to vulnerability.

“What do you mean by that?”

His eyebrows crinkle down, “wha- just…” he pulls back from her grasp and crosses his arms, standing straight. “I know how you feel about men, about me.”

 _Mama_ looks confused, he’s never seen her look so unsure about anything, today is a first for lots of things.

Viktor whipped around when he heard the door rattle open, the wind pushed through and the _noren_ swayed. Yuuri was quickly swooped up by  _matywka_ and pulled into another room, she whispered in his ear along the way. Even in this moment Viktor took the time to be jealous that he couldn’t be the one whispering in Yuuri’s ear.

 _Nevermind that,_  he turns back around to face  _mama,_ she looks… sad. Viktor can’t help the way his face crumbles, it hurts to see a loved one sad, especially when you’ve never seen such an expression on their face before. His chest feels tight and his eyes sting, but he  _won’t_ cry. Not if he can help it, and he’s sure had enough practice.

 _Mama_  clears her face of all emotion with the swipe of a hand, clean and clear just like that, it doesn’t surprise Viktor that she can do that, and he realizes that must be what he looks like when he tries to stay emotionless. He almost wants to take a step back, but he holds fast.

“Vitya,” she starts, “I’m sorry.”

 _Okay…_ Now he does take a step back because this is definitely not this  _mama_. 

“Can we sit?”

Viktor can only nod as she leads them to an empty table in a practically empty room. She continues before he can say anything, his mouth hanging open, “it seems as though I’ve made a horrible mistake,  _not_  in pushing Kohler-”

“It’s kolya,  _mama._ ”

“- Away, but in creating such a misunderstanding between the two of us and losing you for a decade.”

A crease forms between Viktor’s eye brows,  _Mama_  looks away as to not meet Viktor’s eyes, so he does something he hasn’t done in a long time, he reaches forward and takes one of her hands between his.

“ _Mama,_  what do you mean?” It’s the first time in a long time that he’s used such a gentle tone with her, he realizes now he regrets waiting so long.

“I just saw how he treated you and I  _loathed_ it, I thought you’ve resented me for causing you to break up and I couldn’t let that bother me knowing you would be safe and away from him!” Her eyes snap to his, a tear rolls down her cheek, “but all this time, you’ve thought I’ve hated men,  _hated you!_ How could I? You are my most precious gift…”

Viktor chokes holding back a sob he didn’t know was coming up, “ _mama_ ,” he whined, pulling her into a tight embrace, she was only stiff for a moment, melting into his arms easily. “Kolya wasn’t  _that_ bad.”

He feels her hand cup the back of his head, tangling her fingers into his hair. “Vitya,” she scolds, her voice back in control, “I saw the bruises, he was nowhere near  _kind._ How could I sit back and watch my child suffer?”

He pulled back an inch to look at her face, “I didn’t know you knew about that… That is one of the reasons we broke up in the end. Thanks to your last push, he left me alone.”

Viktor never thought of Kolya as a bad person, even now, they had been young. But Kolya doesn’t matter now, Viktor just wishes he had talked this out with  _mama_ back then.

Viktor feels his cheeks go wet,  _mama_  releases her hold on him and wipes the tears from his face, “you are so beautiful, miliy moy.”

Viktor chuckles and she continues, “and Yura is very sweet, I can’t wait to have him as a  _zjat’_.”

“ _Mama,_ ” Viktor complains, “not you  _too._ ” But he’s not really complaining, the smile on his face evident of that.

~*~

Yuuri shuddered from the cold as he entered the warm entrance of the inn, he barely got his slippers on before he was being manhandled down the hall and  _matywka_ was telling him, “shh,  _mama_ and Vitya are  _talking!_ ” And it sounded like a big deal so Yuuri knew it must be a big deal.

He looks over his shoulder to see them squared off and prays to  _Kami_ that they end up on good terms after this.

Matywka pulls him into the kitchen where she’s already got some water warming up and the oven warming up, she taps the counter space next to her for Yuuri to join her. He doesn’t know what she’s making but it smells good, a jar of peach jam sits next to some neatly folded looking dumplings.

Yuuri holds back the disgust he feels deep in his soul when he asks her, “are you gonna put jam and meat in those dumplings,  _matywka._ ”

“Don’t be silly, Yura, these are  _piroshki_. No meat, just jam.” Her smile is so delighted and Yuuri can see why  _mama_  had to propose to her after just a couple months. He breathes a sigh of relief at the lack of meat and jam combination. “Vitya loves jam.”

Yuuri has war flashbacks to Viktor stirring raspberry jam into his tea and cringes, “I know… We, uhm… definitely didn’t have everything you need here, so how’d you get the ingredients… if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I brought them of course, you never know when you’re gonna need to make comfort food!”

She frowns all of a sudden and Yuuri’s taken aback, “Vitya and his  _mama_  have been fighting for so long, I just want them to make up.” She rolls her eyes, “just build a pond and skate over it, is how they say in America.”

 _So, she is aware of it,_  he thinks. She picks up the unfinished  _piroshok_ and starts folding anew, Yuuri doesn’t correct her phrase, he actually likes her interpretation of it quite a bit. “He told me a bit yesterday…” He may have experience folding dumplings but he doesn’t think he can take on the enormous task of folding these  _piroshki,_  so instead he gets two tea cups and pours the tea.

Against his better judgement he asks, “would you like anything in your tea?”

She looks at him out of the corner of her eye with a sly smile and shakes her head no, “thank you dear.” They’re silent for a moment before she says, “neither of them would talk to me about it… that stubbornness, he gets it from her most definitely! You can tell right, Yura? I’m so easy going!” She throws her hands up in exasperation.

He can’t help but laugh, “I don’t think you seem stubborn at all.”

 

She finishes her  _piroshok_ and puts them in the oven. Yuuri and her stand around the counter for a bit, sipping tea and letting Viktor and his  _mama_  talk for a bit in privacy. When they go out into the dining room they find Viktor and his  _mama_ sitting next to each other, hand in hand, chatting very freely. Viktor was animated with his words and Yuuri’s shoulders sunk in relief, he hadn’t even realized they had tensed up. Beside him  _matywka_ let out a little “ _oh!”_

She skittered over to them with the plate of  _piroshki_ and set them down and stood on the other side of the table in front of them, Yuuri followed after at a slow pace. She put her hands together in prayer and looked to Viktor then to  _mama,_ she was unable to hold back a noise of question. They looked at her with the same expression of amusement.

 _Matywka_ put her hands out as if to say  _‘so?!’_  and Viktor laughs, “what?” He asks, pretending there was never anything wrong. He lifts his hand, the one that cups  _mama_ ’ _s_ to show it off to her and waves it around a bit.

 _Matywka_ jumps and runs around the table to hug them both, practically tackling them over. Yuuri pulls his lips between his teeth to keep the smile from showing on his face,  _thank god._ He placed the tea on the table and went to move away, quickly, but a hand grabbed him, he thought it was Viktor at first but when it looked down  _mama_ was pulling him in to sit with them.

“Don’t you want to get to know your  _mama_ ,  _kotenok?_ ”

It seems this family is more similar than Yuuri had realized before, he settles in accepting his fate.

~*~

“ _Arigatō,_ Yuuri.” Viktor says, they lay on their sides facing each other in the bed, Makkachin busily chews at a toy at their feet. Viktor has a hand resting on Yuuri’s neck, his fingers move in soothing patterns.

“You don’t have to thank me, Vitya, I didn’t do anything.” Yuuri’s eyes are closed, falling into the calm of Viktor’s movements.

“We never would’ve been brought back together without you.”

“Mmm… all you needed was a place to meet in the middle.”

“ _You_ gave us that place, without you… we wouldn’t have.”

A light smile draws on Yuuri’s face, he blindly reaches up to his neck to find Viktor’s hand, he intertwines their fingers and pulls them in front of his chest, “you’re  _matywka_  said the funniest thing today.”

“I don’t wanna talk about my mothers anymore.”

Yuuri opened his eyes, Viktor’s eyes were the most beautiful blue he’s ever seen – it might even be his favorite color now – Viktor looks so warm and Yuuri’s pulled in like a mosquito to a fire. Yuuri hopes that comparison isn’t foreboding, that Viktor isn’t as dangerous as a fire.

Viktor leans in then and Yuuri meets him in the middle, their lips press together gently, he tastes sweet and Yuuri yearns for more, he tilts his head to fit into the crook of Viktor’s mouth better. 

Yuuri thinks he could lay there and kiss Viktor forever and he actually plans to, that is until Makkachin jumps on their face in an attempt to join. They both roll away from her – and effectively each other – with delighted shrieks. 

“Alright, alright,” Viktor says, turning back over to ruffle her fur, “we’ll play with you! Wanna go for a walk!?”

Makkachin yips and jumps from the bed, over to the door. Viktor goes to stand up but Yuuri grabs him by the collar and pulls him down for one last searing kiss, Viktor softly moans into it and that’s when Yuuri jumps up and away from him. 

“Let’s go, Makka, baby!” Yuuri opens the door for her and they book it down the hallway and into the main room, Viktor chases after, both men laughing as they go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _виктор никифоров в серьезных отношениях_ = Viktor Nikiforov in a serious relationship?  
>  _Kolya_ = Victorious  
>  _Kohler_ = Coal  
>  _zjat'_ = son-in-law  
>  _kotenok_ = kitten


	9. Day Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Yuuri’s breath is coming in gasps, his hands are shaking, and Viktor rolls his eyes at the display. “I- I’m s- s- sorry,” Yuuri forces out between heavy breaths. The door pushes open fast and Mari’s rushing in, falling to her knees, her hands hover next to her brothers face._   
>  _“Yuuri, listen to me, just breathe.”_   
>  _“Oh please, you can stop pretending now, you’ve won Yuuri, I’m leaving. You’ve lost your guy.”_   
>  _Mari snaps around to look at him, “this is real, idiot.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!! <3  
> I'm back! this chapter was really hard to write, but i pushed it through!  
> thanks for your continued support! every kudo and comment means the world :3

Viktor lifts his arm from around Yuuri and gently lifts the edge of the curtain to see out the window. The suns just starting to rise so he figures he has a couple more minutes before Makkachin starts whining to go out and eat breakfast. He drops the curtain and looks down at Yuuri.

His eyelids flutter quickly as if he’s dreaming and Viktor’s tempted to press a kiss to them. He tucks his hand back under the blankets and into Yuuri’s armpit for warmth. Yuuri’s eyes open, but Yuuri’s not actually seeing Viktor.

“Good morning, _solnyshko._ ”

“Mm…” Yuuri’s eyes are closing again and he’s pressing against Viktor’s chest.

_Guess that’s that then._

He can’t help smiling at his sleeping beauty, putting his chin on Yuuri’s head and tucking the man into him even more. Viktor thinks about how he wouldn’t mind waking up like this every morning, at least for the foreseeable future, with Yuuri’s vanilla smell in his nose and his cold toes pressed between his calves.

His phone vibrates violently on the desk, he tries to reach out to silence it but can’t reach around Yuuri.

“Viktoru~” Yuuri whines.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta…” He pulls himself free of Yuuri and crawls to the end of the bed to jump over Yuuri’s legs to get off. Grabbing the phone, he sees Yakov’s contact, “I gotta take this.”

He swipes to answer the call, and taps his leg, “Makka, come on, girl.”

Her head bops up from the mountain of covers, she’s already perky and ready to go, jumping from the bed and joining Viktor as they exit the room.

“Always a pleasure so early in the morning, Yakov. What is it, midnight there?” He finally talks to his caller when they close the door.

“When do you plan on coming home, Vitya? I think you’ve fooled around enough, don’t you?”

“Ah, actually I was planning on moving over here.” He says airily, “will you box up my apartment and send it over?”

“Stop joking around. It reflects on your company.”

“Take a couple days off and the world falls apart without me, huh?”

Yakov’s gruff voice grumbles over the line, a throaty noise Viktor’s grown used to after working with the man for over a decade. “We’d be much better off with a competent CEO.”

“Your words sting, Yakov. My own father-”

“You’re no son of mine, boy.”

“Ow! Though you’ve raised me so thoroughly.”

“Poorly, it would seem.”

Viktor huffs out a laugh, “Is there something so very important that I need to be home for that you can’t take care of yourself?”

“We’re having a team building event. You’re an integral part of the team, if you’re not there what will that tell the rest of the team. They’ll think it’s okay to be absent and-”

“Okay. I’ll be home for the office party, is that good enough for you?”

“It’s not a par-”

“Whatever, talk to you soon, Yakov.”

Viktor pulls the phone away from his ear to click the end button, letting the phone fall to his side. He sighs and looks down at Makkachin, patiently waiting at his feet.

“Let’s go eat, baby.”

She skitters down the hall, one of the few words she knows: eat.

He follows after her holding back a laugh, “wait for me,” he calls after her. She runs through the empty halls and around the empty tables, straight into the kitchen. “You have to go out first!” He calls, ( _out_ being the last of the few words she knows).

He hears her claws halt on the kitchen floor, then scramble as if trying to gain traction again. She comes flying out of the kitchen and runs over to the front door, Viktor watches in amusement as she jumps at the doors.

“What a good girl.” He opens the screen and she zips out so fast into the cold air, and back in just as quick when she had done her business. Viktor pours her food into her bowl and slinks away while she devours her food.

He sneaks back to Yuuri’s room, leaving the door open a crack in case she wants to come back to join them. He climbs over Yuuri’s prone form and falls into place next to the wall. This time he presses his cold legs against Yuuri who whines at the contact.

“Why do you hate me?” Yuuri squirms away, flipping over so his back is to Viktor.

Viktor’s arms shoot out to grab him, pulling him back into his chest, “quite the opposite actually.”

Viktor realizes what he’s said and feels the heat rush to his cheeks, obviously Yuuri’s realized what he’s said as well because he’s stopped squirming, going still.

“Uhm… I mean…”

“’s the same for me.” Yuuri says quietly.

“O- oh…”

“Anyway! It’s too early for this kind of talk.”

“Huh?”

Yuuri flicks the covers off and stands up, the tips of his ears clearly red even from Viktor’s view behind him. Viktor’s never seen Yuuri so energetic in the morning.

“You wanted to go ice skating again, right? I’ll call Yuuko, it’s probably best to go early.”

~*~

Yuuri skates figure eights while waiting for Viktor to join him on the ice. _What’s the opposite of hate?_ Yuuri can’t get this morning out of his head, he thought the slow, methodical movements would exhaust his brain power, he’s wrong. _Isn’t it love?!_ He tries his best to convince himself it’s just _really, really liking someone_ when Viktor’s skates come into view.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh,” Yuuri halts, “uh, figure eights.”

“I’ve never seen them before,” Viktor skates over to him and balances on one leg, looking down at the ice he comments on the blade marks, “so neat.”

Yuuri puts a hand to the back of his neck, “y- yeah.”

Viktor attempts to follow the path Yuuri had carved out, quickly deviating from it, “oops…”

“It’s okay,” Yuuri laughs.

“Let’s put on some music, it’s nice to skate to music, right?”

Yuuri nods his agreement and Viktor points him over to his phone, resting on the edge of the barrier. He puts it on shuffle before swiping through his music, humming along to the song that came on.

“Turn it up.”

“Right,” Yuuri goes to do just that but ends up almost dropping it instead when it dings with a notification.

 

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/44691645860/in/dateposted-public/)

“Chris texted you,” he tells Viktor.

“What did he say?”

Yuuri glances down to read it but the message has disappeared so he closes the music and opens up the messenger app.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/32635802668/in/dateposted-public/)

“He said, ‘are you going to the Team-building party?’ Eye roll Emoji.”

“Tell him, ‘yes.’”

Yuuri hums his okay, whether Viktor heard it or not and types the response. He giggles at Viktor’s cute emoji and subconsciously scrolls down to see more, “oops, am I snooping?” He’s about to close it when he see’s something Christophe sent Viktor.

He’s absolutely certain that it’s a picture of him with Viktor. _What the hell?_

_The Guardian? Who would write about me? About Viktor?_

“Oh,” Yuuri looks up, his eyes wide feeling caught in the act. “Ask him when it is?” Yuuri’s stomach is tight, he suddenly feels guilty for accidentally looking through Viktor’s messages.

“Uh… sure.”

~*~

Yuuri had a sick feeling the rest of their time at Ice Castle, but he refused to cut their time short, after all, Viktor had asked to skate and once Yuuri had put the music on he seemed to be in an even better mood. Yuuri thought this feeling would go away when they got home, but even after resting under the _kotatsu_ for a bit and eating some lunch he doesn’t feel any better.

“Are you okay sweetheart?” _Obaachan_ asks him, he looks up at her and offers a crooked smile.

“Yeah, I think I’m just gonna… go lie down for a bit.”

Viktor glances over to him now, he puts a hand on his thigh, “want me to come?”

“N- no, just enjoy the rest of your lunch.”

Viktor doesn’t look convinced when he removes his hand and says, “okay, you know where to find me if you need anything.”

“Mhm…” Yuuri drags himself from the table and quickly moves to his room. He’ll feel better once he finds out what that article was about. Christophe’s message rings through his head, _I told you so._

He sits on his bed and leans against the wall, knees up to his chest and cradling his phone as he searches the internet for _The Guardian_ and _Viktor Nikiforov_.

The most recent appear at the top, the correlating photo is the one from the message so he opens it chewing into his lip.

His phone translates the Russian into understandable Japanese or tries to at least.

 _Viktor Nikiforov in Serious Relationship? By Jasmin Qadiri,_ Yuuri has to wonder why these people care to write about Viktor, why care to write about _him_ and Viktor. He skims through the article, when he gets to the end he realizes he doesn’t like what he read at all. So, he goes back and reads it thoroughly. The second time he still doesn’t like what he’s read.

 _Playboy. Unobtainable. Dives in and out of relationships. I told you so._ Christophe’s text runs like a scroll through Yuuri’s mind, _told him what?_

Yuuri feels himself spiraling, his breath catches, his knuckles turn white as his finger nails dig into his palm, and he feels his body falling away from the wall.

_After a string of one-night stands, Nikiforov seems to be serious with one lucky man. Could this be true love?_

Yuuri’s flat on his back now, his phone hovers over his face as he clicks the only contact, he knows he can talk to right now.

“Yuuri!” The chipper voice answers, “I was just thinking of you, must be one of those thi-”

He’s cut off by Yuuri chocking on a sob, Yuuri clears his throat to hold back his emotions, the tears haven’t fallen yet, that means he still has time.

“Yuuri… what’s wrong?”

“I…” he takes a deep breath, he wants to say that he’s tried everything, he just _can’t_ get Viktor to break up with him. “Wait…”

“What?” Phichit’s voice urgent, “what’s going on?! Do I have to kill someone?”

“N- no…” Yuuri realizes that Viktor’s been so hard to push away because… because it doesn’t matter who he’s dating, as long as he’s dating someone. It’s like being punched in the gut, he lets out a gasp, “I’ve never been good enough for Viktor, he probably _hates_ me.”

“Yuuri, what are you talking about?”

“Phich, I’ve ruined everything,” he doesn’t wait for an answer, he drops the phone, idly tapping the end call button. After all, he called Phichit to get some comfort about the article… that was before he realized Viktor was just _using_ him.

He doesn’t know how long he’s laid there, the sun is lowering in the sky, pinks and purples mix in the blue. He wipes at his eyes, he never ended up crying, but his stomach is tight and his throat tastes sour.

There’s a knock at the door and he sits up fast, he _really_ can’t face Viktor right now, “uhm, wh- what’s up?”

“Are you feeling better?” Yuuri lets out a breath, it’s just Mari, “can you come down and help for a bit?”

“Y- yeah,” he scrambles from the bed, tousling his sheets to find his phone, he pockets it and opens the door. “Where’s, uhm… Vitya?” The syllables a bad taste on his tongue.

“He went to walk Makkachin.” She looks him up and down, she must recognize something because when she looks him back in the eye, she offers a crooked smile, her eyebrows curled up.

He bit into his lip, he should say something, anything. But Mari just taps his wrist with the tips of her fingers, a comforting gesture, “c’mon, I need help clearing tables for dinner,” and then she’s walking away.

Yuuri had been gone for so long he had forgotten this feeling, having a family that doesn’t need explanations, that will be there for him no matter what. His smile is wonky, and he pulls his lips between his teeth to keep it from crinkling his eyes. He follows after her.

~*~

Yuuri had disappeared almost an hour ago, Viktor wanted to follow him into his room and curl up with him on the bed if he wasn’t feeling good. Wanted to press his face into Yuuri’s neck and breathe in his sweet smell, let his fingers dance across his skin and rub the pad of his foot up and down his calf. He wanted to comfort Yuuri, he wanted to be comforted by Yuuri.

Whatever had happened during lunch, Viktor suspected it was a result from something at the rink.

_Yuuri was picking out a song on Viktor’s phone, a song came on and Yuuri started humming along. Viktor smiled, he didn’t stare at Yuuri, worried that his stare would scare Yuuri. So, he stared down at his skates where they glided across the ice._

_“Trust me, darling, trust me, darling” the words floated over to Viktor and it was so quiet, almost lost to the ice completely, but Viktor heard it. He peeked at Yuuri from the corner of his eyes, his lips were pressed together, humming again._

_Viktor swallowed and tried to move quieter, he slowed his movement and held his breath._

_And then, “trust me, darling, trust me, darling…” Yuuri sang the words again, Viktor’s pretty sure he didn’t even realize he had sung at all, because he moved back into a hum._

_Viktor felt giddy, having heard Yuuri sing, even if it was too soft to actually_ hear _. He’ll take what he can get. “Turn it up,” maybe if the music was louder, Yuuri would be louder._

_All too quick though, Yuuri’s humming came to a halt, “Chris texted you.”_

Viktor mourned the loss of Yuuri’s humming, he came back over after that and they skated but there was a crinkle between his brows, and something seemed off.

“Makka, you wanna go for a walk?” She hopped up from where she sat curled up next to him and ran to the door. “Do you need help, Mari?”

“Nah, you can go.”

He nods and follows after Makka.

It’s cold. Not as cold as home, but cold enough. His hands are stuffed in his pocket and he pulls his scarf up to cover his nose, leaving his ears to suffer.

His phone vibrates, he lets out a sigh, not really in the mood to talk to anyone, especially if it’s Yakov.

He pulls it out of his pocket and it’s an unknown number. He considers letting it go to voicemail but something nigs at the back of his head, so he swipes to answer the call.

“Hello?” _Is English okay? Most people speak that, right?_

It must be the right choice because the person on the other end says, “is this Viktor Nikiforov?”

“Uhm, yes… who is calling?”

“Yuuri’s friend. _Best_ friend, in fact. Phichit Chulanont.”

“Oh… good, maybe you can help m-”

“I’ve only called to say one thing.”

Viktor’s taken aback, “uh. What’s that?” He feels lost, _this is a first._

Phichit clears his throat on the other side of the line, “if anything,” his tone matter-of-fact, “ _Yuuri_ is too good _for you_. Not the other way around. You may be some hot shot CEO or what the fuck ever, but Yuuri is kind and sweet and caring, you’d be _lucky_ to fall in love with him.”

“Uh-” _Am I getting the shovel talk?_

Phichit doesn’t let him get a word in though, “you can’t hate him! It was just a bet, he just needed a confidence boost, but Yuuri is genuine. A hundred percent all the time.”

_A bet? Confidence boost? What?_

“And if you can’t under-”

“No, I get it,” Viktor cuts him off, he keeps his tone light and pleased, “maybe if you explained it a little better, we could clear up this whole mess.”

~*~

Viktor feels hot when he gets back to the _onsen_ , his shoulders are pushed back making his back muscles taut, he pulls off his shoes and unhooks Makkachin from her leash, he tries to keep his movements fluid so no one questions him.

He yells out his “I’m back” and rushes to Yuuri’s room. Once inside he drops the façade and starts pacing, it’s only a moment before he’s convinced himself _no, I should take care of this now,_ and this is the first time Viktor’s unable to clearly think things through. He rushes back down the hall and calls out, “Yuuri, can I talk to you?” His words unyielding.

Yuuri looks up at him, his eyes sad, “uh…” he looks to Mari who shoos him off. “Yeah.” Viktor taps his foot against the floor as Yuuri moves into the kitchen to drop off what he cleared from the tables and back out.

“Wh- what’s up?”

Viktor just points down the hall, to privacy. Yuuri’s face scrunches up, _does he know I know?_

They move and neither men notice when someone follows them down the hall. The door closes and Viktor’s reeling on Yuuri, not unlike when his mothers showed up unannounced, this time though, he felt much more justified in his anger.

“I talked to your friend,” he sneers. Yuuri’s eyebrows scrunch down in confusion, _guess he doesn’t know, then?_

Viktor continues, “’I bet I can get that guy to dump me in ten days’? Sound familiar?”

Yuuri’s eyes shoot wide, “wa- wait, Viktor, that’s not-”

“Not what?” He scoffs, “not what it sounds like? It’s pretty clear cut, Yuuri. I’m just the lucky bastard you picked at a party and the unlucky bastard who had to fall in love with you.”

“Fall in l… Wha- but, but… the article?”

“What article?” He snapped back.

Yuuri sniffed, his eyebrows fell together, “y- you,” he straightened up, his tone going hard, “I saw the article Chris sent you, the media’s always writing about you, right? You didn’t even like me, you just needed a man who would be pliant at your side.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Yuuri,” he flicks his bangs off his forehead, “this is two different things, I was attracted to you that night, I _wanted_ to sleep with you, I wanted to _date_ you and make things work. Yeah, maybe to get the media off my back, good for you for putting that together.” He claps for effect.

“But you! Did you ever like me at all? Is anything you told me the truth? Is your dog really dead, were you really gonna go to Julliard, are you actually trying to stay abstinent, is this even your real home?” He throws his arms up indicating to the _onsen_ around them. “I don’t know you at all.”

Yuuri’s own budding anger had receded right away, the man shrinking in on himself, crumbling against the door. “Don’t be so dramatic, you don’t need to cry over a fake relationship, Yuuri.”

Yuuri’s breath is coming in gasps, his hands are shaking, and Viktor rolls his eyes at the display. “I- I’m s- s- sorry,” Yuuri forces out between heavy breaths. The door pushes open fast and Mari’s rushing in, falling to her knees, her hands hover next to her brothers face.

“Yuuri, listen to me, just breathe.”

“Oh please, you can stop pretending now, you’ve won Yuuri, I’m leaving. You’ve lost your guy.”

Mari snaps around to look at him, “this is real, idiot.” He’s never had her malice directed at him, he’s only seen it thrown at a rowdy customer.

Viktor’s eyebrows scrunch down, his arms uncross and go limp at his sides, “wha-” He doesn’t know what to do.

Mari seems to read his mind, “just get out of here,” she spits.

Viktor scoffs, his anger not having left yet, “fine.”

As he rushes to leave he hears Mari coaching Yuuri through breathing, he passes by Hiroko and _mama_ but doesn’t stop, “I’ll call you later.” He only manages to flick off the slippers and grab his shoes and coat, only pulling them on when he gets outside.

“I’m not wanted here anyway.”


	10. Day Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this world, flights are very convenient to your needs and they're all non-stop lol

Yuuri wakes in a cold bed, when he lifts his head, he realizes he had had his face pressed into the pillow Viktor had been using. He’s still half asleep and doesn’t even know how to register that so he just pushes the pillow away until it falls from the bed, and turns around to flick the curtain up.

It’s still dark, he turns back to curl under the covers once more. Though, how is he supposed to fall back asleep without Viktor’s warmth to fold into. _No, you survived without Viktor before, it’s only been a week!_ Even Makkachin hadn’t slept at his feet, choosing instead to whine at the door all night when Viktor stormed off, Yuuri’s heart wants to break.

Yuuri’s body goes rigid when he hears voices outside of his door, _Viktor._ He pushes the covers off and quietly jumps from his bed to put his ear to the door, the voices sound like they’re down the hall, mumblings he can’t understand. Looking back at his clock he finds it’s just after two in the morning.

He opens the door to investigate, just a crack at first, and when he doesn’t see anyone he slips into the hallway and follows it down to the open room. He tiptoes, putting his weight on the wall and instinctually skipping over the squeaky floorboards. He chances one second to see who Viktor’s talking to, now that he’s closer he understands the mumblings he couldn’t make out are actually Russian.

Viktor’s back is to Yuuri, the door just in front of him, blocked by… his _mama_. Just a couple days ago, Yuuri was the comfort Viktor seeked to get away from her, maybe it’s better this way, him finally being able to speak with her and see eye to eye. _Okay, of course it's great!_ - Yet, Yuuri wishes he could wrap his arms around the man’s waist, press his cheek into Viktor’s back, maybe he’d put his hand over Yuuri’s, and they could just stay like that.

~*~

_“Ah, I just got moy syn back and now you’ve scared him off again,” a thick accented voice says from the door, she huffs a laugh, not actually amused._

_Yuuri looks up from where he’s sitting on the bed, a pillow crushed between his chest and knees. He’s almost surprised someone managed to get past the guard dog, that is, until he sees who it is. Mari would’ve easily let Viktor’s_ mama _in._

 _“_ Mama, _” Yuuri blushes, “I mean-”_

_“No,” she steps into the room then halts, “don’t shy away now… Can I come in?” Yuuri nods. “I don’t know what happened…” she sits at the desk, “but I do know miscommunication is easy… especially with a Nikiforov.”_

_Yuuri knows he doesn’t deserve her comfort, when Viktor and her fought it was because she was trying to protect him, what happened with Yuuri was –_ is _– very awful. At the time the bet seemed like silly fun, he hadn’t thought about the other person’s feelings, because he hadn’t_ known _Viktor. He regrets it completely._

_“You’re young, darling.  Boys are always doing silly things, that’s why I don’t date them.”_

_Yuuri’s chest hiccups a laugh, his eyes closing, his mouth twisting up without his permission._

_“Ah, I got a smile, good then. You can still win Viktor back, he’s quite the romantic, you know. Just like his_ matywka _.”_

_Yuuri looks off to the side, “yeah, but he’s got all that stubbornness from his other mother,” he grumbles. When he realizes what he's said his head whips to face her and his hands swing in front of himself defensively, “I mean-”_

_But she’s laughing, and for the first time he sees the stone-cold woman’s nose scrunch and her head tilt back in joy. Yuuri marvels at her long throat and her beautiful features lighting up with her giggles,_ this must be what matywka fell in love with. _When it comes to Viktor, at least, that’s what he fell in love with._ Oh god, I’m in love with him.

_Mama’s words bring him back to reality, she’s finally stopped laughing, “you’re right,” she chuckles, “he definitely got his stubbornness from me, I’m sorry about that. Though, you should know, where I am stubborn with almost everyone in the world… I am like putty in the hands of lyubov moya. She puts a finger to her chin, “I think you’ll find, Viktor may be easily persuaded by you. Ah! But, don’t take advantage of that… I’m trusting you, Yura.”_

_He looks up at her with wide eyes, not feeling deserving of the trust, but unwilling to break the trust of this family ever again._

_She stands, running a hand through his hair in a soothing gesture. “I’m sorry, darling, he asked me to collect his things for him to… pick up.” She says this without looking at him, as if the blow won’t strike just as hard. It does._

_Yuuri swallows, stuck to his spot, unable to do anything more than watch her pick up Viktor’s things and fold them into his bag with motherly care. When she misses the grey shirt Viktor wore skating he doesn’t say anything._

_And when she leaves, saying “I’ll help you but only if you’ll fight where I did not,” he can’t do anything besides stare at the door, eyes shifting to the floor where he had sat and watched Viktor storm off several hours earlier._

~*~

Her voice is soft, speaking to him as if he were a child again, a child who needed to be held and coddled, more than anything that’s exactly what he wanted right now, but not from her. The person he wanted it from being down the hall and being the person he could never see again.

“Won’t you just talk to him, Vitenka?”

The name stings, he flinches, “please _mama,_ don’t- don't" _call me that._  He never wants to hear that name again, not today anyway. Not tomorrow, either. “It’s too late, _mama_.”

“Wait until morning,” she puts a hand on his arm and squeezes her reassurances.

“I meant for us.” _It’s too late for us._

Her hand drops and she crosses her arms, her body seems to take up more space suddenly as if she’s trying to block his exit. She looks over his shoulder and then there’s a knowing look, when he looks though, there’s nothing.

“Your mother and I had a fight once-”

“This isn’t a fight.”

“-And we came out stronger for it.”

Viktor only got halfway through his eyeroll, “wait, you only had a fight once?!” She nodded proudly, opening her mouth to say something else. He shakes his head to stop her, “never mind,” he takes a deep breath, “ _mama_ , thank you… for coming, I missed you more than you know.”

She smiles, the crease between her eyebrows smoothing.

While he’s got her placated, he leans down to pick up his bag to make his escape. Makkachin’s been bouncing on his ankles since he walked in the door so he pets her in farewell also.

She takes the opportunity to jump onto his thigh, “you are too sweet.” Then he switches to English because that’s how they spoke to her and he wants her to understand his goodbye, “I wish I could take you with me, beautiful, but you belong to… to Yuuri, really.” He almost gets stuck on the other man’s name. He leans forward to kiss her on the head and stands.

“Bye _mama_.” He pulls her into a hug before she can object, “I’ll visit… I promise.”

At the door, with the _noren_ pushed aside, he looks over his shoulder back at the _onsen,_ he can’t help the melancholic smile that unfolds on his lips, he did get a lot from this trip and he’ll never forget it. “I love you,” he says and it’s not only to his _mama._

~*~

Viktor manages to get one of the last seats on the earliest flight of the morning, he just wants to get home. He needs to get home. He needs something familiar, something comforting.

 _Comforting,_ like the way Yuuri’s fingers curled around his, or the soft press of his lips on Viktor’s pulse point, or his fingers writing words into his skin, or the warm cups of tea he’d pour for Viktor.

Except Viktor would never feel those comforts again, he can’t even remember what he did before Yuuri. All he _can_ remember is the warm rice with every meal, Makka’s nails tapping against the floor, the soft sound of the piano, sitting on the quiet porch in the cold, cold morning.

 _The porch… the cranes._ Viktor hums, plucking the napkin out from under his drink. He attempts the folds he watched Mari make, but they don’t stay and the paper tears underneath his fingers where it’s wet from the drink.

Chagrined, he pulls his bag onto the empty seat beside him and digs for paper, all he finds is a notepad, _not too small, this’ll work._ He makes several mistakes, he folds and unfolds again and again until his hands remember each movement. When he finally gets it, he lets it sit on the tray and stares at it.

“Now, what should I wish for?” He asks no one, ripping off another piece of paper.

~*~

Yuuri taps his knuckles against the table top, it’s almost ten, if Viktor got the first flight this morning, he would be landing soon. Yuuri’s _not_ being obsessive, he only looked at flights because he’ll have to fly home eventually as well… right?

Is St Petersburg home?

 _No…_ He’s home right now. Maybe he should just stay here and never go back.

He looks down at Makkachin where he’s idly petting her head. She looks back up at him with her big brown eyes, “you wanna be with your daddy, right? You love him, hmm?” And maybe Yuuri missed when Viktor would chuckle and slap at his arm when he called him daddy, it had been funny back then.

She whines, crawling half way into his lap and settling down, “oh, does this mean you love me as well? Maybe we-” he sniffs, “maybe we could do shared custody.” His face scrunches, “that is… if he’s willing to… to see me again.”

“Yuuri-” He straightens up, wiping a sleeve across his running nose, “oh, dear.” _Obaachan_ walks overs and sits down with a steaming bowl. She smiles at him gently and he tries to smile back. “I made too much to eat, will you share this with me.” She doesn’t push, she doesn’t pull, she doesn’t say anything about missing breakfast, and lunch, and dinner too. She just offers and waits.

And when he declines, “N- no _obaachan_ , I’m not really hungry,” she smiles and takes a bite. Humming around her food.

Yuuri’s stomach growls, “okay, maybe just a little.” She perks up, pushing the bowl towards him and handing off the chopsticks. Yuuri looks down at the bowl, he never could resist _Katsudon_ , he takes a bite and the food fills him with warmth.

“It’s delicious.” He feels warm tears spill from the edges of his eyes abruptly. It’s the first time he’s cried today and it’s like the flood gates opened. He drops his chopsticks into the bowl and falls into his mother’s already open arms.

Yuuri sobs into her chest, she rubs at his back, then moves up to his head to card through his hair, “shh, it’s okay, Yuuri, let it out.”

She sits with him until he’s done, they probably sat there for a while but she’s patient. Just as quick as the tears came on, they’ve stopped, he sits up with a hiccup and she picks up the edge of her apron to wipe his cheeks clear, then his eyes, “there.”

Yuuri sniffles, he picks the chop sticks back up and finishes her food, it’s cold now, but still so good. She waits with him until he’s finished, “I think I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Okay, honey,” she stands and takes the bowl. She leans forehead to kiss him on the forehead before departing, “goodnight.”

 

Yuuri makes it to his room, crumbling onto the bed, suddenly he’s exhausted. He opens up onto his back, arms splayed wide and looking up at the ceiling. He remembers when he was younger and he put a poster of that ice skater up there, Yuuri was gonna write music for skaters like him. What had happened? Why did he give up so easily?

His phone rings in his hand and he closes his eyes as if he can ignore it, but when its incessant pitch becomes unbearable Yuuri pulls it in front of his face to silence it once and for all.

_Phichit… oh shit… I hung up on him the other day._

His nose scrunches as he shakes his head and clicks the answer key. “Yuuri? I think I made a mistake.” Phichit declares.

Yuuri’s eyebrows scrunch down, _Phichit doesn’t_ make _mistakes, not anything he can’t easily fix anyway._ He forces a chuckle, “ah, is this finally my time to help the great Phichit Chulanont with a problem.” He could really use the distraction.

“Yuuri…”

Yuuri sobers up, “what’s wrong, Phichit?”

“I think I told Viktor about the… the bet.” Yuuri purses his lips at the words, _I talked to your friend,_ Viktor’s words come to him like a scream in the back of his head. His eyes squeeze shut, _it doesn’t matter, it’s too late anyway, it doesn’t matter._ He shakes off any anger bubbling up inside of him.

Yuuri lets out a deep breath, “Peach, it’s okay, what’s done is done. I don’t blame you.”

“Ah! But! I opened my big mouth and told him, like, _everything_! I am the _worst_ best friend… but you can’t demote me, okay? Okay? Because I’m gonna help you get Mr. Perfect back!”

Yuuri breathes out a pathetic attempt at a laugh, “how’re we gonna do that?”

“How- Yuuri!! You know me! It doesn’t matter ‘how,’ that’s like… measly details. Come back home and we’ll start on Plan A, but don’t worry, Plan B or C will work as well.”

 _Home._ _There’s that word again. Is it really home?_ “What’s Plan A? isn’t that like a ‘how’?”

“I don’t have it figured out yet… just! Just hang up with me and book your flight.”

“You don’t have a Plan A but you already have B and C.”

“You’re _not_ listening to me, Yuuri.”

He laughs, and it surprises him, “okay, _okay,_ I get it, okay. I’m hanging up and booking a flight.”

“Great!” Phichit seems to hang up on him instead and Yuuri looks down at his screen, a picture of Makkachin looking up at him accusingly, with a big lovable smile.

 _Why do I always give up so easily?_ Again, the question plagues him. _No, not this time,_ resolve sets in, _I won’t give up this time._ He picks up his laptop and picks the earliest flight for the following morning, then he throws it to the side and starts packing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo hoo! one chapter left! and then the epilogue! <3 thanks for sticking with me !!!
> 
>  _noren_ : fabric dividers hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways, or in windows


	11. Day Ten

When Viktor had gotten home the night before he walked through the rooms of his house and pulled down all the things Yuuri had hung up, photos, decorative pieces, – he never liked random sayings around the house anyway – and a mirror that he let smash to the floor.

After that he had fallen into his bed and only woken up twice, once because he had rolled over to the cold side of the bed in an attempt to find warmth that wasn’t there, and the second time thinking he had to let Makkachin out to use the restroom. Both times he squeezed his eyes shut tight and pretended he didn’t feel the sting in his chest.

This time when he wakes up he lays facing the ceiling trying to work up the energy to go out into his home and pack up the things Yuuri left behind. _Do it today so you don’t have to do it tomorrow,_ he tries to convince himself. It doesn’t work, he lays there even when his stomach complains, he lays there until the sun is high and his phone has rang and rang and rang.

And it’s ringing again now, the shrill sound finally pulls his body and he reaches over to grab it, a notification from Chris pops up and he groans but opens it anyway.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/39768874633/in/dateposted-public/)

“Hah,” Viktor chokes out, rubbing a hand down his face. Of course, _the party._ It’s hilarious, it really is, because it looks like he’ll actually be able to go now. Yakov will be pleased.

He sends off his reply and lets his phone fall from his fingers onto the floor ignoring the quick response from Chris.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/45818277915/in/dateposted-public/)

He pulls his knees into his chest, his elbows tucked in and hands covering his face, “fuck!” his limbs splay out on the bed with the force of his words. “Okay,” he forces himself to kick his legs over the edge of the bed and sit up. He clenches his hands into fists, takes a deep breath and pushes himself from the bed.

“You can’t just wallow,” he tells himself, “you’ve been taking care of yourself for a _long_ time, nothing’s changed,” and he needs to say the words out loud to believe them. He wants to shut his eyes as he walks into the bathroom, he doesn’t want to see the toothbrush holder Yuuri had brought over so his toothbrush could fit next to Viktor’s and he doesn’t want to see the towel in the hamper that Yuuri had used before they left. But if he can’t even get past the bathroom, how is he supposed to get through the rest of the house.

 _Damn,_ if Viktor can barely do this, how do people handle divorce? _They’re probably, like, ten times sadder, with ten times more stuff to sort through._ Viktor steels himself and grabs his toiletry bag from his suitcase, faces the bathroom door and sets his shoulders back. He moves to take a step towards the door and instead finds himself steering the other way. He walks away from the door, out of the bedroom and into the hall, and… into the guest bathroom.

 

“I can deal with that later,” he says around his toothbrush.

~*~

The dining room is clean of any traces of Yuuri’s… prayer activity. Viktor’s lip curls up and he rolls his eyes, _how did I not see it?_ Then he’s surprised when a laugh slips out, “he’s so funny though,” he looks down at the floor, his eyebrows scrunched together. “How did he come up with that? Who _does_ that?”

When he moves into the next room he sees the shrine, _I don’t even know how to go about dismantling this…_ and he doesn’t want to be disrespectful to the poor puppy, so he leaves it.

“I should’ve just gone to work today,” it’s too quiet. He walks through the rooms again in a daze, the same pattern he had walked last night and traces the holes in the wall where he ripped the nails free, at his feet a broken frame. He grabs a broom on his way and when he gets to the mirror he sweeps it up, “guess that’s seven more years of bad luck.”

Viktor pulls a bin out from the storage closet and sets it on the counter, he quickly moves around kitchen, grabbing Yuuri’s favorite mugs and – gently – putting them in the bin along with the tiniest spoons Viktor’s ever seen that Yuuri insists are for tea, objects that had a specific purpose and some that had none. And when his rice maker doesn’t fit he places it next to the bin.

Viktor goes back into the hall to pull the photos from the broken frames, he finds a book in Yuuri’s bedside table, _it’s not_ Yuuri’s _bedside table, it’s mine._ Viktor’s shoulder comes up and rubs his cheek at an itch that’s not really there. He flips through the book, it’s a date book, the months that have passed are written in lovingly and crossed out in a nice pattern, there’s a flower pressed between the pages in June, a postcard from Bangkok lays in September, and a page ripped from a book in November. He can’t read the loose page because it’s in Japanese but there are some pictures of what looks like meditation poses. He snaps the book shut and carries it out to the bin, when he looks at it, it fills him with dread.

He tugs the bin off the counter and carries it into the living room where he sits on the carpet and pulls each individual item from the bin and lays them out in front of him. Like a grid, a clean pattern of just some of Yuuri’s things, “’guess we don’t know each other at all,’ I said… but…” he looks at the stuff laid out on the floor, “I know this much.”

Viktor looked at what he had created and realized what it looked like… _a memorial._ He quickly threw the stuff back in the bin to get rid of the image, _Yuuri’s still here. Yuuri’s still here… I just may never see him again._ One of the mugs chips when he carelessly drops it in this time. “Fuck,” Viktor runs his hands through his hair, “I can’t do this right now.”

~*~

Yuuri hasn’t been home in nine days. He had expected it to feel different but he hadn’t expected it to _actually_ be different.

“You don’t call, you don’t write!” Phichit exclaimed barging into his space. as he sneaked through the front door.

Yuuri reared back, “I did call.” He bends down to place Makkachin down and release her, she bolts from the cage, unsure where to start sniffing first she stops in short bursts to sniff everything for only a few seconds before moving on to the next thing. He tries to move around Phichit to set his bag down when he notices, “what _is_ all this?” He arches an eyebrow.

“What?” Phichit turns around to examine the room, “oh _this_?” He gestures to the enormous hamster roadway system that wraps around the apartment, over counters and balancing on Yuuri’s books in some places. “Just something we set up while you were away.”

Yuuri huffs out a laugh, “I see that.” He finally manages to get around Phichit and sets his bag by the couch, pulling his charger from it. His phone’s been dead since mid-flight, not like he could focus on anything it had to offer anyway, it’s not like Viktor would be texting him.

 _But maybe he would?_  Yuuri tapped his fingers on the counter as he waited for the phone to turn on. Phichit looked over his shoulder at the black screen, “so what’s the plan?” He asks.

“I thought you were gonna figure that out.” Yuuri says offhandedly, his focus unwavering. It lights up and Yuuri’s shoulders go stiff as he waits and _waits_ , “come _on,_ ” he urges.

“Well I had _one_ idea. We go to his house, okay? We move _all_ your stuff in this time, then we pretend the trip to Japan was a dream and uh…”

“Finally!” He exclaims tapping in his passcode. His phone dings with several messages.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/164475304@N05/46681961182/in/dateposted-public/)

His phone rang quickly after he sent the reply to Yuri, he was tempted to let it go to voicemail but sighed and clicked answer anyway. Before he could speak Yuri beat him to it, “doesn’t seem like you’re thrilled.” He accused and Yuuri could practically hear the crease between his eyebrows.

Yuuri sighed again, “hah,” his shoulders rolled up with the force of his laugh, “no, I got exactly what I wanted, I won the bet.” Out of the corner of his eye Yuuri saw Phichit flash him a frown, pursing his lips, but stepping back to give Yuuri some space to talk on the phone.

“You should definitely be happy,” Yuri urged, “I’ve been trying to get the guy to leave me alone for years.” When Yuuri doesn’t answer he hears Yuri sigh over the line, “what happened?”

Yuuri rolls his lips between his teeth, he won’t cry, _he won’t._ “I fucked everything up,” he bites off the ‘f,’ “he found out about the bet and he left and I let him and I wish I hadn’t. But I did. I let him leave and I’ll-”

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Yuri cut him off. “Don’t need you turning into a blubbering mess, I barely understand your Russian as it is.” It’s quiet for a moment as if Yuri is thinking, “we can fix this.”

And before Yuuri can answer, can ask him _how?_ Yuri’s hung up. “Yura?” He looks at the screen, Makkachin’s face staring up at him, “alright than.”

He puts his phone down on the counter – _no messages from him –_ and when he looks down he sees the real Makkachin staring up at him patiently.

“We can just-”

Yuuri cuts Phichit off before he can go off on his tangent about moving all of Yuuri’s things into Viktor’s home again, “I better take her for a walk, she’s been on a plane for a long time.”

Phichit’s lips press together and he nods. Yuuri unpacks Makkachin’s leash and they head outside into the freezing cold, Yuuri doesn’t feel it as terribly as he had before.

~*~

Yuuri walks around with Makkachin for an hour, his fingertips are numb, but she doesn’t seem to feel it. When he gets back Yuri’s there tapping his foot impatiently.

“Took you long enough,” he strides over to grab Yuuri’s wrist, “let’s go?”

“Where are we going?” He still has Makkachin on the leash and she’s bouncing at Yuri’s heels.

“Actually…” he whirls on Yuuri, releasing his wrist and puts a finger to his chin, not unlike Viktor’s thinking face. “We need to make you look good,” he pointed at Yuuri, “got any cheetah print?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve got some stuff we can dress him up in,” Phichit chirps from behind them, “no cheetah though.”

“Ugh, fine.”

~*~

“Wow, you look like shit.”

“Charming,” Viktor says in response to the comment upon entering the bar, it’s not exactly the type of complement he wanted to hear at the beginning of the evening but he knew it was true. Even with twelve hours of sleep he didn’t feel rested.

Christophe seems to catch the mood and drops his smirk, “do you wanna talk about it?” He saddles up to Viktor’s side and offers him his drink.

Viktor puts up a hand in rejection, “I’ll get one. And… not here.” He offers the best smile he can manage, “thanks Chris.”

When his other coworkers come up to welcome him back his attempts at a smile are much better. “You gonna sing?” Mila asks, her girlfriend is behind her talking with her brother, but Mila’s hand is gripped in the other woman’s tightly, doesn’t seem like they’re separating anytime soon.

“Sing?” He hadn’t realized it before, but now he takes a look around the room, there’s a small DJ booth and a tiny stage next to it with a television resting on a very shady looking table with wheels. “Uh… I didn’t plan on it. No one told me the team-building was karaoke,” he said pointedly through his teeth.

Christophe slung an arm over his shoulder, “what, you just thought we were meeting at a bar? That would never happen.”

“Hmph.”

Mila laughs at him, “well, you should think about singing, from what I remember you have a good voice.”

Viktor smiles to the younger woman, “alright, I’ll think about it.” Mila accepts this answer and bids them good bye “for now,” and turns to enter her girlfriends conversation.

Christophe turns to him, “you’re not gonna sing? Then, why are you even here?”

“Really, Chris?” Viktor looked at him over his drink, “I needed to get out of my house.”

Christophe’s eyebrows rose high, “what you _need_ is to let off some steam. I would  _suggest_  mutual masturbation with someone friendly,” he looks around the room, “but last time I suggested anything like that for you…”  _it didn’t work out,_  goes unsaid. “So!” He claps his hands together, “I signed you up for a song.”

Viktor gapes at his friends, “ _what?_  I don’t wanna sing.”

Christophe just chuckles, “you’re gonna like it. It suits the situation.”

“What song, Christophe?”

“You’ll see,” he winks and pulls away. As he walks off his hips sway to the music playing over the loud speaker.

~*~

Thankfully, the karaoke didn’t start until an hour in, that gave everyone plenty of time to get hammered if need be. Viktor had quite the high tolerance, so he wasn’t drunk yet, but after four drinks he did feel rather tipsy. Perfect for karaoke.

When Mila finished with her rendition of I Wanna Dance by Whitney Houston, Otabek calls over the loud speaker for: “Viktor NikNik.”

Viktor sighs and Christophe goes to take his drink, Viktor crinkles his eyebrows together and shakes his head, pulling his drink close to his chest as if to protect it from Christophe’s greedy hands. He takes the drink with him to the stage.

Viktor may be one for surprises, but in this moment, he doesn’t think he wants one. He goes to look over at the book for sign up to see what song Christophe is making him sing.

When he sees the scribble next to his name, he can’t help the smile that tugs at his lips,  _this_ is _the perfect song._ Sure, it makes him think about Yuuri, but he already was, so what’s the harm in having a little fun.

Viktor put’s his drink on the table next to the television and grabs the microphone. When the [music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu34fwt7D84) starts there’s no time to think.

_“My friends keep asking why I never use my phone no more,  
            Truth is that things went down that I could never say before,”_

Viktor’s never been shy, always one to go all out, so that’s what he does now. His shoulders are already moving with the beat, he points to a random man from his office – John-John or something,  _who cares?_  – with his next line.

            _“But now I see that I could save another man the pain,  
            I should just swallow my pride and explain.”_

The beat picks up and his co-workers and friends are cheering from the floor, Christophe  _whoops_  and Viktor is gonna have to thank him later because he’s feeling so much better already.

            _“I should’ve known this guy was trouble from the start,  
            But I was choking back a broken heart.”_

He puts a hand to his throat while his chest bounces in imitation of a heartbeat. 

 _“I should’ve noticed something strange about the things he said, but he was all in my head,_  
             _From the moment he took my phone and sent himself a text, it never worked the same, I learned my lesson,_  
_His name was Mimi!!”_

Viktor’s hips roll and he’s moving across the stage, he really feels for the guy who sings this song, Viktor has his own Mimi, at first Yuuri was incredible but then like a switch, he flipped into someone ridiculous. Now, he had an explanation though, he wanted to seethe at the thought, Yuuri was just trying to annoy him, trying to make him run off. Viktor wouldn't have given up so easily, even if he hadn't had that bet with Chris... wouldn't he?

            _“So why was it so hard to quit Mimi?”_

Hasetsu it changed again though, Viktor got to know his family and see a side of Yuuri he hadn’t seen since the first night, sweet and kind, a little shy, but  _so_ beautiful. His expressions were honest and he didn't make Viktor want to pull his hair left - what's left of it anyway.

 _No don’t think about that!_ He forces himself back into the music, there’s a break before the last verse, he grabs his drink and downs it.

_Fuck Mimi!_

He leans over the edge of the stage and steals the drink out of John-John’s hand and downs that too.

_Fuck Yuuri!_

He looks up and-

_Fuck, it’s Yuuri…_

Viktor notices Yuuri in the crowd with Yura, but he doesn’t lose his nerve, ha can’t after all, he’s  _Viktor Nikiforov,_ he points to Yuuri and quickly looks away because he doesn’t think he could get through the last verse if he didn’t.

 _“_ Yuu _ri, was it all about you, you?”_

 He can’t help it, he looks and Yuuri’s eyes are blown wide. Even from here, Viktor can see his throat bob as he swallows hard.

            _“No one ever believes me, when I tell ‘em we’re through.  
            What did you do?”_

Next to him Yura has a look of utter disbelief, and maybe a little bit annoyance. Viktor doesn’t look away from Yuuri for confirmation but he’s pretty sure Christophe’s  _woo_ ing for him.

            _“Yuuri, was it all about you, you._  
            _No one ever believes me, when I tell ‘em we’re through._  
_Boy, what did you do?”_

Viktor ends it with a flourish, grabbing another strangers drink and sauntering over to Christophe, purposefully ignoring Yuuri now. He’s made his point.

In the background, Viktor can hear Otabek call Georgi up next to sing.

As expected Yuuri quietly comes over to them, his head is bent down and his shoulders are shrugged up. He doesn’t look like he’s just flown for fifteen hours, he look’s  _good,_ so good. Viktor wants to rub the hunch out of his shoulders and kiss the frown right off his-  _no. No you do_ not _, Viktor,_  he scolds himself.

“Uhm…” Yuuri’s words abashed.

“You’ve come to bother me while I’m with people from work,” Viktor forces a chuckle - though, it feels stuck in his throat - and Yuuri flinches back.

The words just came out and Viktor wishes he hadn’t said them, he looks to Christophe for a backup laugh or  _something._ Christophe is gone, and now that Viktor notices, Yura’s gone too. He turns around and sees them at the bar, not even looking their way.

“I… I didn’t know it was work…” His voice is low, he spoke to the ground and Viktor’s never seen him so unsure of himself. “Yura told me- I’m sorry… I just wanted to talk to you.” He looks around at the crowd, Viktor’s co-workers, “yeah, this looks bad…”

The music blared on behind them, but Viktor made no move to go somewhere quieter, he didn’t want to hear Yuuri out,  _he does!_ But he won’t.  _I won’t._

Viktor clears his throat, “I’m not interested, Yuuri.”

“What… could I do? To get just a moment to explain to you… I won’t give any excuses! I just want to… I wouldn’t be able to… just let this stay as is.”

Viktor pursed his lips, looking away from Yuuri. Georgi’s movements on the stage catch his attention and he looks up at the man, he’s singing some dramatic upbeat [love song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEX4AiihK-4) – though the lyrics sound depressing – and practically making out with the mic, Viktor grimaces.

Then he gets an idea, he looks back to Yuuri with a smirk and the man bites into his bottom lip. “Sing,” he nods towards the stage.

“What?”

“I’ll talk to you if you sing.”

Yuuri’s eyebrows crinkle together, his mouth opens as if to protest, but the protests never come, instead something like resolve comes over him and he straightens.  _That’s what I like to see._

Yuuri nods and grabs Viktor’s drink, chugging the entire thing down and coughing on the burn when he swallows. 

To Viktor’s surprise he marches up to the stage, Viktor’s eyes go wide when instead of going to the sign-up sheet, Yuuri goes right up on stage and puts his hand over Georgi’s mic, he says something to the man. Georgi puts a hand to his heart, his face eager he hands the mic to Yuuri just in time for him to finish the song.

 _“I’d walk through hell, for you,_  
            _Let it burn right through my shoes,_  
_These soles are useless without you.”_

Yuuri’s eyes are squeezed shut so tight Viktor can see the crinkle at their sides, his fist his clenched at his side. It’s more like he’s speaking the lyrics, forcing his voice to match the beat but having a hard time of going low enough. _He’s bad,_ Viktor laughs into his fist.

It was nothing like the soft notes from the piano his fingers seemed to love. Viktor wanted to say,  _no wonder you don’t sing in front of people._  The small smile never leaving his face as Yuuri made a mess on stage, his confidence built up with each line, yet he was failing to portray any emotion or sing good at all.

The crowd was loving it, after all karaoke is about breaking out of your shell, not finding the next great singer. Viktor heard Yura, of all people, yell, “get it, Katsudon!”

_Since when do they talk?!_

Christophe comes over to Viktor as Yuuri sings the last line.

            _“What’s an adventurer to do,  
            But rest these feet at home with you?”_

Viktor takes the drink from Christophe’s hand and takes a long pull.

“I was gonna ask how this,” he gestured to the stage, “-happened… but I think I have an idea.”

Viktor just grunts in agreement.

“He’s not very good, is he?”

Viktor doesn’t answer.

Otabek goes to call out the next person but Yuuri doesn’t leave the stage, he looks to Otabek and shakes his head with a resounding  _no,_  he intends to stay up there.

“He’s gonna do more?” Christophe voices his thoughts.

Viktor swallows and the music to the next song starts, Yuuri’s shoulders fall a little more relaxed.

~*~

The next [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Y3u2D8kxg) started and Yuuri didn’t know what it was, he followed the lyrics on the screen. He was fine with this because he didn’t wanna look at Viktor just yet.

            _“I’d been had, I was sad and blue,_  
          _But you made me feel,_  
_Yeah, you made me feel,_  
_Shiny and new~_  
_Woo, like a virgin.”_

Yuuri heated up so completely and very quickly as soon as he realized what kind of song he was singing.

(Out in the audience Viktor sniggered, asking Christophe, “is this supposed to be your song?” and Christophe had replied, “ah, you know me so well.”)

The music continued, but Yuuri squeaked out a quiet, “next song, please.”

Otabek shrugged, not caring one way or another, the office was paying him over time for this no matter how it played out.

The next [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjdLAsnR_Ws) was energetic and Yuuri knew it well, thanks to American College.

            _“Do do do, do do do do…”_

 _Oh my god, this is embarrassing._ Yuuri’s been plastered to the floor since he started, his eyes were shut for the first song and for the second one he read the television but now he was looking out at the people watching him and _this is_ _mortifying._ He finally gets his voice to an understandable pitch but he can’t push himself to actually sing the way he can in private.

Instead, it’s more like he’s just _talking._ He keeps going though, he’ll sing until Viktor says he can stop, he’ll sing all night if he has to.

            _“I want something else, to get me through this,_  
           _Semi-Charmed kinda life, baby, baby,_  
_I want something else,_  
_I’m not listening when you say, goodbye.”_

He skips a verse to grab a drink from someone else in front of the stage, he saw Viktor do it earlier, that’s clearly why these people stand so close to the stage, right? To offer their drinks. The tall man with the thick eyebrows makes an annoyed face and marches over to the bar.

 _“How do I get back there to,_  
          _The place where I fell asleep inside you?_  
_How do I get myself back to,_  
_The place where you said,_  
_I want something else.”_

He looked to Viktor and the man had a fist to his mouth, suppressing a smile, _yes!_ It had to be working, by the end of the night, Yuuri will be talking with Viktor and everything will be perfect again.

 _“And the four right chords can make me cry,_  
_When I’m with you, I feel like I could die,_  
_And that would be all right,_  
_All right?”_

When he says the last all right, he phrases it like a question and points to Viktor having grown more confident. That it quickly squashed when Viktor’s arms fall and cross his chest, an unimpressed face nodding no. Yuuri quickly backtracks, “uh,” he says into the mic instead of the next line and looks to Otabek, “next?”

Otabek obliges and a familiar [tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8raADQ30fN8) starts. Yuuri knows the music but he doesn’t _know it,_ he’s searching his brain and watching the television for the lyrics but when the words shows up on the screen he knows.  _Home..._

 _“..._ _Is where I want to be,_  
_Pick me up and turn me ‘round,_  
_I feel numb, born with a weak heart,_  
_Guess I must be havin’ fun.”_

It’s obviously a cover but Yuuri can roll with it. He’s feeling much better on the stage, it’s not like he’s _really_ singing anyway. He starts to move around the stage, bopping his shoulders awkwardly, he _can_ move much better than this but he doesn’t want to _actually_ dance he just wants to act like a fool up here so people don’t listen to his voice.

 _“Oh! I got plenty of time,_  
             _Oh! You got light in your eyes,_  
_And you’re standing here beside me,_  
_I love the passing of time,_  
_Never for money, always for love.”_

He looks over at Viktor from under his lashes for the last line. After all, if Viktor can dedicate his song to Yuuri, Yuuri can certainty make sure he gets his point across as well. That he’s not here to just walk away with his tail between his legs, he has something to say and he’s gonna say it.

 _“I can't tell one from the other,_  
            _I find you, or you find me?_  
_There was a time before we were born,_  
_If someone asks, this is where I'll be, where I'll be oh!”_

Viktor’s walking up to the stage, and _it’s working, this is working?_

~*~

Yuuri’s spinning around on the stage and he looks all _wrong,_ “he can dance much better than that,” he mumbles to himself.

“What?” Christophe asks from his side.

“I said… nevermind,” he shakes his head and starts making his way to the stage. If he’s dancing like that then he’s probably not singing for real either, _he’s just fooling around._ Viktor feels anger boiling up, he doesn’t let it show. He stamps a hand onto the stage and Yuuri leans down mid-lyric.

“Are you even gonna take this seriously? If you won’t, why should I?” Viktor’s eyebrow raises in a challenge. To his credit Yuuri shrinks back as if struck, his face crumbles under Viktor’s stare, he wants to sooth Yuuri’s worry away, but _no, first he has to do this. This one thing._

Yuuri straightens and says into the mic, “next [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzO5baQ_0bc).”

_“Young ambition,  
_S_ ay we’ll go slow but we never do.”_

Yuuri whispers the first few lines of the song. He’s looking down and Viktor’s really not impressed. He turns to walk away and tries to tell himself it’s _not_ worth it, though he knows deep down all he wants to do is hear Yuuri out and that he would forgive him completely.

 _“Under the kitchen lights,_  
_You still look like dynamite,_  
_And I wanna end up on you~”_

And Yuuri’s voice has gained strength, Viktor whips around and Yuuri’s staring him down, almost leaning off the stage towards him but holding his place. Unlike before where it seemed like he was speaking the lyrics he actually sings them now, he sings in a high key, and _oh, he_ can _sing._

The crowd is whistling for him but Viktor tunes them out.

            _“Dance to this,  
            We can just dance to this.”_

And oh god, Viktor wants to join him on stage. He hands his drink off, because he’s gonna do it. He’s gonna join Yuuri on stage, and before he can think about it he’s climbing onto the stage and Yuuri’s smile is brilliant.

Viktor pulls the mic towards himself to sing Ariana’s part and Yuuri leans into his chest, Viktor’s hands are over his on the mic and he pretends they’re the only ones in the room. They sing the next verse together until Viktor looks Yuuri up and down and sings:

            _“I don’t wanna sleep tonight-night-night-night-night  
            I just wanna take that ride.”_

Color fills Yuuri’s cheeks quickly but his nose scrunches adorably and he holds back a laugh to counter with the same look over of Viktor’s body, singing:

            _“I don’t wanna sleep tonight-night-night-night-night  
            I just wanna take that ride.”_

They finish out the song, foreheads pressing together. Much to everyone’s appreciation it seems Yuuri is finally gonna leave the stage so they can sing the songs _they_ had requested.

That is until Otabek lets the next [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPtHey7v-kc) play and it’s familiar, so heart achingly familiar. It takes him straight back to Japan, back onto Yuuri’s piano bench when he played for Viktor for the first time.

An obnoxious voice sings along to the bold background lyrics, _“find me~ somebo-_ ow!”

“Shut up JJ, this isn’t for you.”

“It’s my song!” He argues back but Viktor’s already stepped off the stage and looking up at Yuuri, who’s looking down at him so gently.

Yuuri doesn’t grab the mic but it’s obvious what’s about to happen, and he steps from the stage as well, pressing into Viktor’s space.

“ _Each morning I get up I die a little,  
Can barely stand on my feet.”_

He’s singing quietly again, but this time it’s purposeful, for Viktor’s ears only.

 _“Take a look in the mirror and cry,_  
_Lord, what you're doing to me_  
_I spent all my years in believing you_  
_But I just can't get no relief, Lord”_

Viktor feels warmth take over his entire body, he wants to grab Yuuri, squeeze him in a hug, cry into his neck, something, anything, he’s _missed_ him.

 _“Somebody_  
_Ooh, somebody_  
_Can anybody find me_  
_Somebody to love?”_

Yuuri reaches forward and interlaces his fingers with Viktor's and he pulls Yuuri into a searing kiss. It’s like electricity as soon as their lips touch, Yuuri doesn’t let him pull away – not like he was planning to – grabbing him by the back of his neck to pull him closer.

They kiss and they kiss and Viktor wishes they were home so they could _talk_ , cuddle, anything. And you know what, he decides that’s exactly what they’re going to do.

Yuuri pulls back first, “does this mean I lost my bet.” He bites his lip and it seems like he’s hoping it’s not too early to joke about it. Viktor wants to roll his eyes and say _yes! It’s too damn early to joke._

Instead, he says, “sorry, you won you’re bet, _zoloste,_ but tomorrow… tomorrow we can start at day one again.” Yuuri’s smile is enough to move mountains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE DONE! well not yet, next week is the epilogue, where we close some loose ends and the boys actually COMMUNICATE <3  
> if you feel like theres something you'd like explained more, comment and hopefully i can get to it in the epilogue!
> 
> omg im sorry if that was too much karaoke!! lmao I've just been thinking about this chapter for a long time now and i kept wanting to add songs! lmao too much??!?
> 
> and THANK YOU for comments kudos, for just checking out my fic and sticking around for so long !!  
> one week left!!


	12. Epilogue: Day One (for real)

They only make it through the front door before Viktor’s pulled at Yuuri’s wrist to turn him around, the way he kisses him now is not unlike their first kiss so many nights ago. Hot and needy, Viktor taking and taking all of what he wants and Yuuri letting him, giving it up willingly. Yuuri’s hands are sweating and he only just remembers that he should probably do something with his hands so he reaches up and pushes his fingers through Viktor’s hair.

Without even realizing it Viktor’s backed him up to the couch and Yuuri stumbles onto it, pulling Viktor down with him. His back only just hits the cushion when they jump in surprise at the sound of needy yipping at their side. Makkachin is jumping up onto the edge of the couch trying to get their attention, her back feet hop in an attempt to jump onto the couch and both men fall into giggles, Viktor falling to the side and onto his back.

“When did you bring her here?” Viktor asks as Yuuri scoops her up by the butt to help her up onto the couch.

“I didn’t,” he says while trying to dodge her tongue licking inside of his mouth. When she’s done greeting Yuuri she climbs over onto Viktor.

Viktor rubs at her flank while turning his head to face Yuuri, the confusion evident on his face. Whether he was trying to figure out how Makkachin got here or he was thinking of Yuuri’s _lack_ of confusion was unclear. Yuuri didn’t know for sure but he had a feeling and that feeling stepped out of the kitchen only a moment later.

“It was I!” Phichit declares with an arm raised in a flourish.

“What-” Viktor springs up from his seat, he looks at the intruder, down to Yuuri, then back up to Phichit. “Oh… are you Phichit?” Viktor asks and Yuuri falls into a fit of laughter, because he only just remembers that Viktor and Phichit never met so this must look ridiculous to Viktor who has a stranger in his home, dropping off his dog.

“Wow, I was worried for a moment when I thought Yuuri hadn’t mentioned me. I _am_ a staple in his life, after all.” Phichit marches towards Viktor with intent, “and no one can replace me,” he threatens with a sickly-sweet smile. Yuuri rolls his eyes and stands to push Phichit out the door,

“Okay~ Thank you, Phichit. You’re the best.” Viktor didn’t seem to mind the mini shovel talk, he’s already bending down o pet at the antsy puppy who’s jumped from the couch for more attention. When Yuuri turns back to him after closing the door Viktor offers him a soft smile and shoos Makkachin off to her bed in the corner.

Then he swept Yuuri back into his arms, pulling him flush against him, “so there’s room in there for me, right?” He looks down towards Yuuri’s chest to get his meaning across.

Yuuri feels the heat move up his neck and settle high on his cheeks, “m- most definitely.”

Viktor’s responsive smile lights up the room and Yuuri could melt. He’s about to let himself be swept back up in the moment, pull Viktor to the bedroom and forget about everything else when he sees them.

“What are those?” Set out on the dining room table is a small box, Yuuri can’t really see from back here but it sort of looks like _orizuru,_ he hasn’t seen it since before college when he would watch Mari fold for hours and hours.

Viktor turns to look over his shoulder at the table, “oh…”

Yuuri steps away and towards the table, when he gets close enough he sees the shapes the paper make, swans, so, so many of them. Colorful ones, messy ones, and some very tiny ones that sit on top, “Were you making origami?”

“ _Orizuru,_ ” Viktor quickly corrects as if Yuuri needs to be told.

Yuuri’s brows shoot up and he turns back to Viktor, if Viktor knows the term _orizuru_ he probably learned it from Mari. “What were you hoping to wish for?”

“You.” Viktor blurts out and Yuuri startles, the smile falling from his face just as quick as it showed up. Yuuri knocked that surprise aside quickly though because a pink blush painted Viktor’s cheeks and Yuuri rarely gets to indulge in it. “W- well, I just wanted it all to be a dream, the bet… and to wake up in your arms…”

Oh yeah, Yuuri was definitely gonna store this memory away, Viktor blushing and falling over his words. He just wishes the topic wasn’t about the bet.

Yuuri’s shoulders slump and he intertwined his fingers with Viktor’s pulling him back over to the couch. They sit, their knees touching and Yuuri regrets the stupid bet and he regrets trying to push Viktor away, but he doesn’t regret meeting Viktor, not for a second.

“Vitya… I wish we could pretend it was just a dream but that wouldn’t be fair to you. I would love to wake up with you in my arms for as long as you’ll let me…”

“Sounds like a proposal…” Viktor looks away with a meek smile, his voice sounds unsure, like he thinks Yuuri could disappear at any time, would even _consider_ leaving.

“First I owe you an apology. There’s no good explanation...” Yuuri starts, chewing on his lip while he waits for Viktor to look up at him. “I’m not… very confident. I never thought in a million years you could ever-”

“Love you?”

Yuuri grows hot in his face, “uhm y- yeah. Or even, y’know, like me…”

“Pft,” Viktor scoffs, “are you kidding?” His smile falls, “oh… you’re not kidding.” He leans closer to Yuuri and puts a reassuring hand on his thigh, “how could I _not?_ ” And he doesn’t specify if he means _liking_ Yuuri or _loving_ him, but Yuuri wouldn’t ask.

“S- same.” Viktor squeezed his hand at his confession. “So... ”

“Right, continue.”

“I’m not very confident, so Phichit - and I’m not trying to blame him - suggested the bet, it was meant to be harmless, I thought I would pursue you and be turned down immediately. Maybe… I thought for once it would be nice to go into something without the fear of rejection, kind of knowing it could come and I’d still come out okay. I’m sorry, _so_ sorry I used you for my own selfish reasons.”

“Yuuri… I don’t think you're selfish… I think you’re a little stubborn.” He laughs and Yuuri smiles shy. “Instead of just asking out the hot guy who was _clearly_ checking you out, you got all complicated. But I know that about you now…

“I wasn’t planning on taking anyone home either, at first. Remember the article on my phone?”

Yuuri sits straight, he had forgotten about that, “gossip magazines spread lies…”

“Yeah, well exactly. It’s not true what it said about me being with different men all the time, but _you_ were right when you said I needed a man at my side. But… I was attracted to you and I didn’t want to _use_ you, I wanted to take the opportunity to fall for you. And… I’m glad I did.”

Yuuri sucks in a deep breath, he feels the sting in his eyes but he _won’t cry._

Viktor presses close and kisses his lips gently, when he pulls back he only puts a couple centimeters of space between them, “I get it… I’ve already gotten over it. As long as we can start this again, I want to try this and be with you. For real.”

Yes,” Yuuri gasps, “yes, please.” Viktor kisses him again, a hand coming up to cup his face, the soft press of his lips is sweet, oh so sweet. Yuuri wants to drown in it, he’ll fold _orizuru_ too, just _please don’t let this end._

Viktor pulls back slightly and Yuuri mourns the loss, “we have a lot to catch up on... ”

Yuuri’s brows crinkle, “we do?”

“Yeah… like, are you actually waiting for marriage - I mean! No pressure.”

Yuuri laughs and he feels so light again, “no, definitely not.” Viktor smiles and raises his eyebrows in question. Yuuri nods and then they’re both standing.

“You’re a dirty tease. When you were getting yourself off - _loudly_ \- in my bedroom.”

“Oh, you heard that?” Yuuri feigned innocence with a smirk.

Viktor whines, “you kill me, Yuuri. Plenty of things ran through my mind that night but they’re nothing like the things I’ve thought up since then,” he smacks Yuuri’s ass lightly and runs off, “let’s see if we can try a few of them!” He says over his shoulder and Yuuri’s already chasing after him to the bedroom.

"Hey!" He shouts through giggles.

~*~

"Alright," Viktor closes the door then leans into the open window of the car packed with all of Yuuri's belongings, "bring this back to your apartment, Phichit."

"Aye, aye sir," Phichit says from the driver's seat with a salute.

"Thanks Peach!" Yuuri says from VIktor's side and when Phichit drives off he pulls Viktor up and into a kiss. 

 

_fin_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooomg <3 finished!! thank you so so so so much for sticking around !!! i really had a lot of fun writing this !!
> 
>  
> 
> look forward to my future stories! and _please_ feel free to talk to me on twitter!! :3  
>  @VicLovesFeet
> 
> <3 love you guys!!!


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